Lost Dreams - A sequel to Elia
by Firefly Rebirth
Summary: [Mysterious surrounds the little Sage...] Five years have gone by and Link has failed to come back. What happened to him? Elia goes to find out, but finds herself caught in a tangle of heroes, Sages, Gods, magic, and more. Is Link worth mortal danger?
1. Diola

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Five years.

Had it really been that long?Elia found it hard to tell now.The days slipped into each other, the seasons passing without her noticing much.Sure, she acted as though everything were normal, and on the outside it was.But inside she was slowly dying, even as her body went meticulously through the motions of everyday life.

Three years.

That was how long it was supposed to have been.Elia was supposed to have been a ripe eighteen, eagerly awaiting his arrival.She would be outside, perhaps tending the garden, when he would ride up on his horse.He would take her into his big, strong arms and carry her away.They would be wed.They would take a nice trip somewhere, see the world.He would know all about the best sights, and take her to them.And then they would come home to Kakariko to settle down.She would give him children.She thought four or five might not be too much, perhaps even six.Anything to make him happy.

Yes, for years now she had seen that dream grow and build in her mind.The happy expectation of reuniting with her love.And then her eighteenth year had passed.And then her nineteenth.And now, here she was, in the middle of her twentieth year, and still no Link.

She had fulfilled her promise.She had waited.She had grown up.Her long brown hair gained more waves.Her hips and bust expanded, but she remained slender.She didn't grow more than an inch taller, though, leaving her at barely over five feet.Link would still tower over her.That she wouldn't mind.She wished that Link were simply _there_ to tower over her.

Elia sighed.How much of the past five years had she spent in her dream world?Was it childish to be like that?Was she still condemned to a lifetime of childhood, like the fabled Kokiri?Would Link never return?

"Waitress!"

She still had her old job at Dain's Tavern.She liked it there.Dain was a good friend, her only friend.Elia didn't really get interested in finding other friends.Most of the girls her age were busy starting families, and the other women in town were either old and cranky or too engrossed in gossip.She avoided men; young and old ones were after her.

The only people she liked to talk to would be adventurers coming through Kakariko.Many were on important missions for Queen Zelda, and if they weren't, they claimed to be.They had fascinating tales to tell of terrifying monsters and lovely damsels in distress.When she had the time, Elia would sit and listen for an hour or two.She cared little if the stories were, in reality, more fiction than fact.They were at least a distraction.

Elia picked up the jug of beer next to her and glided over to the man who had called her.When she had been a child, Elia had had very clumsy tendencies.Maturing had given her grace and stealth.

"You're a pretty one," said the man with a big grin, watching with greedy eyes as the woman poured him a fresh drink.Less could be said about the man's appearance.He was probably at least fifty, with graying hair and wrinkles.He was also a bit pudgy, seeming well fed for the rags he wore.

"Thank you," Elia told him politely, secretly wishing to leave the man's company.She forced a smile and said, "How are you this afternoon, sir?"

"It's been a long time since anyone called me 'sir'," he chuckled, more to himself than to Elia."Missy, could you be bothered to have a talk with an old, lonely man?"

Elia looked around.The tavern was virtually empty, since it was the middle of the afternoon.Most of the men, even the drunkards, had to be out to help with the autumn's harvest.Elia sighed quietly to herself and obliged him, sitting down with a small glass of beer for herself.

Dain could be seen from the kitchen.She was discreet, but Elia knew that the older woman was watching her to make sure no trouble aroused.Dain had a keen eye for trouble, but she also knew that it was Elia's duty to appease the customers.

"Where are you from, sir?" Elia asked, again forcing the fake smile.She thought him too old to try and woo her with tales of dragons and princesses, and wouldn't be surprised to find out if he was a farmer from another village ducking out on his responsibilities.

"I," he started, taking a big sip of his drink, "am a traveling merchant."

That didn't sound too unbelievable.Elia blinked suddenly, thinking about her father.Was he in another tavern somewhere, having the same conversation with another serving wench?

"What's the matter, missy?" asked the man, noticing her slightly panicked expression.

Elia shook her head."Nothing, I was just thinking about my father."She pushed back a long strand of wavy brown hair that had managed to escape the white hood she wore."Do not worry about it."

He nodded."Well, I have a tale for you from the city I was just visiting, Pwyre."

"Pwyre?" she repeated, the word terribly unfamiliar to her."Where in Hyrule is that?"

The man chuckled."'Tis not in Hyrule, but in a land far to the west."He got a distant look in his eyes."Yes, a land far, far away.It is Hyrule's forgotten brother nation, Diola."

She'd never heard of it before.Perhaps he was just spinning tales."I'm afraid I'm not acquainted with the idea of this 'Diola'," she said, the skepticism creeping into her voice.

"I _said_ it was 'forgotten'.Yes, many years ago, Diola soldiers fought bravely alongside Hylians.A magical seal was placed in front of the land by a misguided emperor, who thought he was protecting his people.However, he only succeeded in lengthening the war for the other peoples who were fighting.He thought his people safe, but really they just grew angry and overthrew the government system.The land has been in turmoil since.

"Meanwhile, the Hylian King was working on unifying the peoples and lands here.'Peace' came, and his brother, the Emperor of Diola, had long since fallen.He faded from existence, just as easily as the Hylians forgot about their brothers.For you see, Hylians were truly descendants of Ancient Diola."

The man took a big swig of his beer, some dribbling down his double chin.Eager to hear more, Elia poured him more of the smelly drink.He wiped his face with the back of his tattered sleeve and continued.

"Where was I?Ah, yes.You see, Diola is a land of magic.The people there were once content to relish in the gifts the Goddesses had given them.But some of them, later to be Hylians, wanted to get closer to the gods.Because of their long ears," he said, pointing to his own, "they could hear the gods.They grew greedy, and soon began pilgrimages to find the spot of the Triforce, a relic rumored to possess immense powers.

"They were lead by a hot-headed general, a man of surprisingly great nobility, courage, and wisdom.He was actually the one to touch the Triforce and change Hyrule into what it is today--did you know that?Ah well, that is another tale.

"There was a group of holy priests traveling on the same pilgrimage as the general.They saw it's power and foresaw great tragedies if they left it how it was.So, they erected the Temple of Time to protect it.The general became the first King of Hyrule, situating his castle close to the sacred Temple of Time.The relic sealed away, the pilgrims lost their greed and soon wanted to settle down.And so Hyrule was born, growing from the spot of ultimate holiness.It expanded to touch and join the lands of the Sheikah, Kokiri, Zoras, Gorons, and, most dangerously, the Gerudo."

"So they were all here before Hylians--I mean the Diola people?" Elia asked, gazing at him intently.

He nodded."'Tis the same, I suppose.The Hylians soon forgot their roots, believing themselves destined protectors of the Temple of Time.They thought that they had always been in Hyrule!"He scoffed, sipping his beer yet again."Thank you," he said when Elia poured him some more.

"But you said that Diola fought with Hyrule during the war."

"Well, the Hylians conveniently remembered their long lost homeland in times of desperation.The Diolans were resentful, but the Hylian rulers--at that time Hyrule was commanded by a pair of liars, the ones who started the war in the first place--promised to mend the ties and reunite with them, _after_ the fighting was through."The man chuckled."Of course, that was a war of a hundred years ago.There were a great many wars in the past few hundred years, which explains Hyrule's sparse population.

"The Diolans didn't trust Hyrule again until the last war, the great war that split Hyrule's lands into an infinite number of pieces.They did not join in until the King of Hyrule, Zelda's father, personally addressed the Emperor of Diola.With Diola backing it up, Hyrule's victory seemed sure--until the old emperor died and his foolish son took over."

"He was the one who made the barrier?"

"Yes.He might have been a fool, this Manlyn (that was his name), but he was a powerful sorcerer.And so he summoned his soldiers back to the palace, and made a barrier between Diola and Hyrule."

"What became of the barrier, then?And of Emperor Manlyn?"

"Who knows what became of Manlyn!" the old man said disdainfully."With rumors of mutiny, Manlyn disappeared.The barrier faded away a short while ago--I would say three years or so.

"And that brings me to what I was talking about in the first place," he said finally."I was recently traveling in Diola.I stopped in the city of Pwyre and I heard of a man, a Hylian hero who was trapped in a tower--"

Elia gasped."It wasn't Link, was it?Link, the Hero of Time?"

Dain cleared her throat from the counter.

Elia looked up to see a group of men walking in.She excused herself and got up to attend to the new customers.Then she returned to the table, very interested in talking to the man she had seen before.

All she found were a few rupees next to the empty beer mug.

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	2. Leaving

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"And you believe an old drunk?"

"Dain, just tell me!Is there really a land called Diola?" Elia demanded, looking her boss fiercely in the eye.

Dain sighed.She looked at the ceiling, trying to remember."I think I might have heard of it some years ago from my older brothers, who fought in the last war.But it is a lost land, Elia.I swear, ever since you lost Link, your head has become clogged up with fairytales--"

Elia growled angrily."I did _not_ lose Link, and they're not _all_ fairytales!"

Dain picked up a wet towel and started scrubbing the counter."Look, child, you can't spend your whole life waiting around for Link.Something could have happened that you don't know of--don't waste your life just sitting around!"

Elia got an idea.Triumphantly, she announced, "Fine!I'll go look for him myself!I'll find this Diola and see if the rumors are true!"

"Don't be a fool," Dain scolded, her voice full of skepticism.There was no way Elia would go on such a dangerous mission…was there?

"I'm a woman now; I make my own decisions!"Elia's brown eyes shone with determination."You can't stop me!"

"You can't leave your job, Elia," the older woman told her sensibly.

"I have money saved up.You know that I never buy anything extravagant," the other replied, untying her apron and setting it down on the back of the chair."Surely you can allow me a couple weeks of vacation--"

"I won't."Dain's voice was firm."As your boss I can't let you go on such a journey--"

"Then maybe you shouldn't be my boss anymore," Elia said before she really knew what she was saying.

"What?"

"In other words, I _quit!_"She threw her hood down onto the chair, and it soaked with some spilled red wine.The whitish fabric was soon a foreboding crimson.

Dain, who was just as stubborn as Elia, stood in disbelief.Finally she yelled, "If you don't want to work for me--after all I've done for you--then _get out!_"

Elia glared up at the woman."I will!"

Just as Elia reached the door, Dain called, "Don't kill yourself, you fool!"

Elia's response was slamming the door shut behind her.

Elia dug through her wardrobe, and was angered to find that she had nothing suited for traveling.She took out her cloak and heavy rain boots, throwing them into her satchel.She then went to the only clothes shop in Kakariko, which was owned by a short, skinny, baldheaded man with a nervous demeanor.

"T-Traveling clothes, miss?" he said.

"Yes, I need some good traveling clothes.Do you have any?"

"Not really.It's the wrong season, I'm a-afraid," he stuttered."I would recommend going to the castle town for a more specialized shop.S-Still, we have some good winter clothes you might want to look at--"

She had already left.

"Last chance to buy one before winter!"

Elia looked up.There was Malon, the ranch owner, walking slowly through town with three mighty horses in tow.Malon was a beautiful woman with beautiful red hair and a heartwarming smile.Her voice was famous all over Hyrule.

"Are you selling horses?" Elia inquired politely, hurrying over to the woman.

"Why, yes," Malon said with a hopeful smile."Would you be needing one?"

"How much do they cost?"

"Well, let's see."Malon turned around to look at the three horses."I don't imagine you want the breeding couple," she said, gesturing to the biggest horse, a stallion, and a mature mare.She pointed to a chestnut mare."Would you be interested in this girl?She's very calm, and pretty young…"

"How much?"

"Since she hasn't had a lot of training, I'd say about sixteen hundred."

"I'll be right back!"

Within the next fifteen minutes, Elia was finishing up shutting down her house.She did a quick, final dusting, made all the beds, covered the furniture in sheets, put all the dishes away, packed up all the food, closed up the shutters…There was a lot to do.With about half of her savings safely tucked away in her purse, the young woman rode out of Kakariko.

She wondered if she would ever see it again.

Elia located a dress shop in Hyrule Castle Town pretty easily.Actually, she found at least four, but the bulk of them catered to noblewomen who were attending balls and other social events.She found a more practical store with cheaper prices, run by a plump lady with big rosy cheeks.

"Traveling, you say?A bit late in the season, isn't it?" the woman asked, smiling so big that her eyes were mere slits in her large round face.

"It's sort of an emergency," Elia explained.

"An emergency?"The lines that were her eyes grew into small ovals."Then let's hurry!"She led Elia over to a rack of heavy dresses.She picked a few off the line and handed them to the other woman."See how you like those, dearie."

Elia froze, remembering Dain.She soon shook the regretful thoughts from her mind and took the dresses to go try them on.The shop owner rushed her through the process and soon Elia found herself back on her horse with a new dress on and another tucked away in the bags on her horse.

Early the next morning she was on her way.She had tried to pick up information about Diola, but found it hard to do because people seemed more occupied on some treaty with the Gerudos.Apparently, the people here were more interested in politics than the people in Kakariko.

West.It was the only word, the only clue she had to go on.Perhaps she had left prematurely, she thought, without picking up more clues and becoming more prepared._No_, Elia thought fiercely to herself, _Link might be in danger.He would do the same for me--I know it.He promised to come back!Something must be the matter, or else we would be together by now.He loves me.I know he does._

Elia raised her finger to her lips and kissed the ring she wore, as she did often when she needed courage.It was the only memento of Link she had.She could close her eyes and remember him kissing it too, and then giving it to her.It was the sign of their promise.

Elia buried her face in her horse's mane.It trotted on, whinnying in reply.

"I need a name for you," Elia told the horse, still hiding her face in the thick speckled hair."What name would you like?"She giggled softly to herself.The horse could not talk.It just rode on.

Elia sat back a little and observed a white splotch on the horse.She traced it with her finger, realizing it was a crescent."The moon…" she said slowly."Shall I name you for the moon?Celine, perhaps?"

The horse neighed.

"Very well then, Celine.Onwards!"

They rode through the night.Elia dozed off at one point, her arms around Celine's big, warm neck.The mare slowed down considerably, but did not stop until she felt her rider slipping slowly off.

Elia awoke suddenly, then, finding herself on the ground.She blinked, seeing Celine walking nervously in place, raising her great face to cry at the moon she had just been named for.Elia wondered what the horse was afraid of.Then she saw a creature approaching her quickly.

Celine reared and backed up, out of Elia's desperate grasp.The young woman got up, groping for a stick or something.But there were no trees around and, consequently, not branches, sticks, or even twigs.

The creature was a wolfos, a hungry dog patrolling Hyrule Field of its midnight snack.Elia was, unfortunately, the helpless victim it had chosen.

It lunged.

Elia cried out, throwing her hands in front of her face instinctively.

The wolfos howled loudly.

Elia dared to open her eyes.She saw a blue force field of some sort surrounding her.She looked to see that the energy was flowing from her ring.Link's ring.The creature was dead, melting into foul-smelling green smoke.

Link, wherever he was, had saved her.

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	3. Nylan and Company

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Elia rested in the middle of the next afternoon, sprawled out on an especially plush patch of grass.Her cloak was pulled tightly around her thin body, her arm outstretched so that she could look at the ring on her finger.Celine, meanwhile, was busy having a snack.

"Eh, Celine?" Elia began, turning her hand over and back a few times.The silver sparkled beautifully in the direct sunlight.She closed her eyes and she could see the moment when Link slid it over her finger.Not expecting an answer, and not getting one either, Elia went on, "I wonder if Link enchanted this ring for me.It was either his doing or some accident."She was sure of this; there was no one else who could have done such a ring.

Celine looked up for a moment, then went back to munching her grass.Her expression seemed to say, _You silly girl, how can you expect me to answer you?_

Elia gently reached out and rubbed the horse's face."It is better to talk to you," she explained, "than to no one at all.And plenty of riders talk to their horses.At least when no one else is around to talk to."Her attention returned to the ring."Do you think I will see Link soon?"

The mare continued her munching.

"I have never fought anything in my life…at least with my hands."Her thoughts drifted to Dain and she felt saddened.Would the woman ever forgive her?Of course, Dain had been just as mean back to Elia.Perhaps their friendship was severed forever.

But even as she thought this, she knew it was not true.She was closer to Dain than she had been to her mother.Elia realized, then, that her boss, the toughest woman in all of Kakariko, had really helped her along as a mother should, and would.Dain didn't seem to have anyone else to talk to except Elia, who she had always been willing to help.

"I will make sure to apologize when I get back," Elia promised, blinking in the heavy batch of sunlight that poured down from the Heavens."I'm sure Dain will let me have my old job back.And, if she doesn't," the young woman added quietly in a much sadder tone, "I will just have to beg."

This seemed to appease Celine, who whinnied loudly.

Elia got up slowly; her legs were both stiff from riding and unaccustomed to the new clothes, the skirt having just one layer with breeches underneath.She felt naked, somehow.Did men feel this way all the time?

Settling back into the saddle, Elia kicked her steed and they were off again.Elia enjoyed the feeling of the wind rushing through her hair and over her body.She had done only minimal riding--enough to learn, since it was a necessity in Hylian life--but that had been years ago.Now she had been doing it for almost two straight days.The stopped infrequently; Elia was eager to plunge on, even with the toll that traveling took on her.

After many days, they left what was Hyrule behind.It had been a long time since she could look back and see Hyrule Castle.But now Death Mountain's high peak, the tallest point in the land, was obscured by new rocky bluffs.And the earth Celine's steady hoofs were pacing on was not Hyrule Field, but a tough mixture of sand and dirt.

"There's no going back now," Elia told herself.She was now scared.She was, after all, a simple village maiden.She had traveled no farther than Lon Lon Ranch in all her days, and usually she kept within the walls of her hometown.During her journey so far, she had considered turning back many times.But always the image of Link would appear in her head, and she would give Celine an extra nudge to hurry away from home and head west, towards a land of only rumors and legends.

The first sign of civilization that Elia glimpsed came after a few more days.She was overjoyed to see it.A large tent was staked securely on the side of a wide, fast-moving river.It was dusk and already light was trickling out from inside, smoke coming out a hole in the top.Whoever was in the tent had a fire.

Elia dismounted, taking the reins in one hand to lead Celine over.The tent looked to be made of a giant whitish cloth, hung over giant sticks that were planted firmly in the hard ground beneath.A small overhang covered an open doorway, in front of it a red woven mat.There was a wooden post on the side of the shelter, and to it was tied a large white horse with tired black eyes.

"Stay here," Elia whispered firmly to Celine, trusting the horse enough to release the reigns and abandon it for a moment.The woman cautiously neared the tent.She heard sounds inside: a crackling fire, the laugh of a male voice, metal moving against metal.

"Is someone outside?" a woman's voice spoke, bearing a slight accent.Her vowels were said with an unusual emphasis, all of them hard.

"Eh?You're right!" said a man, his eyes meeting with Elia's.He came over on his short, muscular legs to stand at the entrance of the tent.He was a young man, probably about as old as Link.His hair was a dirty blond and his eyes were a shade of brilliant green; they stared at Elia intently.

Elia blinked.She gave a slight curtsey to the man."H-Hello, sir.Good evening."

The stranger's long, pointed ears perked when he heard her speak."A traveler?From Hyrule?"

Wondering if this was a good or bad thing, the young woman gave a hesitant nod.

"You look very weary," he said, looking her up and down.His voice was thick with what Elia imagined must be the Diolan accent; it was the same way the woman had spoken before.Still, he looked just like any Hylian she might come across, save the intensity of his eyes.

"Then for the Goddesses' sakes, invite her in!" scolded another male voice from behind the first.Elia couldn't see him, though; the man at the entrance was a bit taller than her and bigger with muscle.He blocked her view.

"You are welcome to stay the night with us," the man in front of her said.He peeked his blond head around to see her horse."Shall we take care of her first?"His thick finger pointed.

Elia nodded and followed him to the post.

"My name is Elia," she said as his obviously expert hands moved deftly to fix Celine to the post.

He looked up from the completed knot."Elia of Hyrule," he mused in an odd voice."Well, I am Nylan of Diola, secondary leader of the Fifth Tribe."

Nylan backed up a bit from the horses, his head lowered and his hands clasped firmly in front of quickly moving lips.A faint green glow grew from his hands and he opened them, releasing a quickly growing orb of green to surround the two horses.The thing, like a shield almost, soon faded.

"They will be safe now," Nylan told her with a smile."I'm afraid there's lots of robbers about the East Bluffs that rear their ugly heads at night."

"Oh," Elia replied.She had been wondering what he had been doing.

"Take what you will need from your things, but the rest will be safe," Nylan continued, going back to the tent.He turned and smiled broadly at her."I promise."

For some reason, Elia found herself completely trusting the man.Perhaps it was just because she had observed his power.Or maybe he was just too charismatic, and she was just too trusting for her own good.

Elia retrieved some rupees and some clothes from her saddlebags, and then scampered after Nylan into the big tent.

She entered to see five people sitting around the fire.There were two women, a man, and two boys.Nylan was just now walking over from a straw mat to take his place, for he had just retrieved a rounded piece of gray stone for Elia to sit on.

Nylan introduced the people.The older woman with orange and white streaked hair was Nylan's wife, Wonara.The younger woman, who looked to be closer to Elia's age, had completely orange-red hair and was Wonara's cousin, Mvon.The man, Xua, was Nylan's younger brother who had the same color hair and eyes, although not as fierce.Lastly, the two boys were twins and sons of Wonara and Nylan.They looked to be miniature versions of their father, and perfect clones of each other.Their names were Baxt and Bward.

Elia repeated the names slowly, each word especially hard since they were said with such a thick accent and strange syllables were emphasized.They each smiled at her encouragingly when it was their turn for introduction.

Apparently, the six of them were all members of the 'Fifth Tribe'.They looked as different in personality as any family could be, but they had similar physical traits.They were not terribly tall, but they were muscular with well-defined muscles.Their skin was evenly tanned from head to toe (or at least what skin was visible).Heavy cloaks hung on one side of the tent, and right now the people were dressed in concealing clothes that was woven from threads thick and dark, with peculiar patterns and markings on it.

Their tent bore similar markings on the inside.Elia thought she could see what resembled an owl if she squinted slightly in the small, messy triangular splotches.Around the perimeter of the shelter were laid thin woven mats, covered in large pieces of fabric.The floor was the dirt underneath, but it was packed down so hard from wear that it was hard to tell it from any real floor, truly.

Over the fire in the middle of the tent hung a large pot of fish stew.Wonara picked up a stack of ceramic bowls and began serving it up with a wooden ladle.Mvon assisted in the process of serving by picking up a loaf of hard bread and breaking off pieces, dropping them into the bowls, and passing the completed meals down a line.Since Elia was the guest, she was served first.

Elia hadn't realized that she was hungry until the food was in front of her.As soon as Nylan took his first bite, she, like the rest of them, dug in heartily.The fish was flavored with foreign spices and plants, but it was still food and it still warmed and filled her eager, shrinking stomach.She ate a second helping when it was offered, but denied a third so as not to seem greedy.

When the eating was done, the group continued to sit around the fire, stretching out.Elia felt like one of them, then, situated between the children and the women.They were in a circle, a shape of unity and peace, of continuity.This calm feeling was added to when Wonara poured the adults a ceramic cup each of a tangy green brew.

"So what brings you to Diola, Elia?" Nylan asked before raising his cup to his lips.He took a sip."Tremendous tea as always, my love," he mumbled quietly to Wonara, who blushed in return.

"Yeah!You certainly don't look like a traveler--even those old merchants had more muscle on 'em!" piped up Baxt.

Wonara's expression turned from a look of bashful embarrassment to one of anger."Baxt!Child!How dare you speak ill of a guest?"She turned to look at Elia, who herself was blushing slightly."Please do not regard my son's harsh words, Miss Elia.Apparently I haven't taught him as many manners as I'd hoped."

Elia smiled kindly."He was only speaking the truth," she admitted."And it is a virtue to be truthful."

"Still, it is impolite to be so blatant," Wonara said, softening a little, leaning back to breathe in the scent of her drink.

"Perhaps," said Elia."I did not expect to go on this journey, or on any journey, though.But I have someone I must find, no matter the cost."

"And the cost will be great, I can see," said Xua, speaking for the first time.His voice had been low and serious, his dark green eyes watching the flames.

"You can 'see'?" Elia asked, wondering what he meant.

"My brother has prophetic powers," explained Nylan proudly."The Tribesmen--"

Wonara coughed.

"--_and_ Tribeswomen of Diola, like the rest of this nation, have been blessed with many magical powers.I have heard that Hyrule is not so fortunate," he added with an understanding look to Elia.

Elia bit her lip.She looked at Xua, noting his shiny blond braids and focused green eyes.So he _knew_ that she had something horrible ahead of her?What was it?How awful?She would have to ask him later.

"But I hear you have many magical peoples," Nylan was saying.

Elia blinked herself back to reality."Oh?Yes…Few Hylians use magic, really, save heroes and princesses."She frowned slightly to herself, thinking of Link and Queen Zelda.

"Anyway," Wonara said a bit forcefully, noting Elia's troubled expression."Why are you traveling, then?For who?A friend?A lover?"

Elia colored and nodded slightly."I am looking for the one I love…I haven't seen him in quite some time, but I heard a rumor that he had been imprisoned here somehow."

Nylan raised a light eyebrow, skeptical."You are in love with a criminal?"

"Oh no!" Elia cried."He could never be a criminal…I'm sure that, if the rumor was true, that he was victimized by evil.I could never imagine him doing anything wrong!"

Wonara nodded."We are often blinded by love," she said knowingly, placing a tan hand on her husband's.

"He would never do anything criminal!" Elia protested again.She eyes suddenly widened when she realized she was standing, her voice raised.She slunk down back to her low seat."F-Forgive me," she murmured, her brown eyes low, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

Nylan tilted his head, thoughtfully."And who is this wonderful man you speak of, the one who would do no evil?"

"I know you might not believe me," Elia said softly, folding and refolding her hands in the lap of the green dress."But the one I love is Hyrule's savior.His name is Link, and he is the Hero of Time."

"Then perhaps you are right," Xua said, his voice no longer eerie but now a lot friendlier and wholesome.It was like Nylan's, thought Elia, only pitched a tone lower.His eyes sparkled, now seeming normal as opposed to ethereal like before.

Elia looked to him thankfully, but quickly averted her gaze when she felt a strange sort of energy between them, like he was…reading her thoughts or something.If he could see the future, he might very well be able to know more about the present than a normal person.

"You might be surprised to know that tales of his adventures have reached even here," Nylan commented, his mouth widening in a slight yawn.For a moment his voice had almost lost its accent, sounding truly Hylian.Elia knew that there was much more to this man than what he presented.

"We, too, are thankful to Link.Ganondorf was a formidable enemy, whose horrors reached even us," Wonara explained, helpfully topping off her husband's drink using the gray ceramic pot that hung over the fire.The woman looked at her sons."They both are fascinated with Link.Aren't you, boys?"

The two children nodded meekly, apparently still humbled from their mother's earlier scolding.

"For once in their lives they are shy," Nylan said, as if it were remarkable.He flashed a grin at Elia."Perhaps it was because we have such a pretty guest."

"Father--" Baxt started.

"Really--" reflected Bward.

Nylan laughed heartily, and Elia could tell, had he been nearer his sons, that the man would have given them both a good-natured pat on the back.The man chuckled."I am only teasing you."

Again the two were humbled, bowing their heads in frustration.

Elia, meanwhile, was in another world.Someday--soon, preferably--would Link interact so wholesomely with his own sons and daughters?With _their_ children?

Her journey back to the present was slow and gradual.She heard Mvon saying to her, "You must be very much in love to travel so far for him, based on just a rumor.You must be very brave."

Elia shook her head.Courage was Link's domain, not hers."Brave?No.But I have a feeling…A feeling that I _need_ to save him.I am scared an inexperienced, but I need to keep plunging on."She colored a little, realizing that the eyes of everyone in the room were upon her.Gulping, she said, "I have not done very much yet, and I don't know what I can do.But Link…I know in my heart that he would do the same for me."

"How terribly romantic," Mvon murmured distantly, her baby blue eyes shimmering with stars."What a wonderful love you two must share!"

Wonara said, more sensibly, "Do not take too many unnecessary risks.You do want to see him again, don't you?How long since you parted."

"Five years," the brunette answered.

Everyone gasped slightly.

Elia fumbled for words to say."I know it might be hard to understand--sometimes it is hard for _me_ to understand it myself.I know you think that he's given up on me, that he's moved on."She sighed."That's what everyone thinks.Even my best friend."

Again Xua was taken over by the mysterious air.The flames flickered, reflected tenfold in his otherworldly green eyes."If you believe in yourselves, and in each other, the fated reunion will come to pass."He looked up, gazing intently at Elia."But there is much sorrow ahead."

Elia wondered how he saw and just exactly _what_ he saw.

"Xua, stop it," scolded Nylan."You are scaring the poor woman."

Xua blinked, his eyes lightening a shade.He looked upon Elia with compassion."Forgive me, miss.I get carried away sometimes…"

"It is perfectly all right," lied Elia, inwardly screaming at the fear and anxiety inside to quiet down again.Once this was accomplished, she gave them all a warm smile, the smile that Link loved so much.The smile that melted an onlooker down to his soul."Whatever the price, I can pay it."

_Can you, really?_ dared Xua's expression, but he controlled the 'power' or whatever it was enough to keep his mouth shut.

"Xua, honestly," spoke Mvon, her shyness apparently fleeing her.She looked upon the man with a strange look, and he looked back at her, unspoken messages passing instantaneously between them.

Elia knew those looks, this feeling.Mvon and Xua were in love, but they could not admit it.Not even to themselves.It was the same with her and Link, and with any other young couple.However, the young woman chose to say nothing.Instead, she switched the topic.

"Nylan, sir," Elia began politely."You said that you were of the 'Fifth Tribe'.Are there other tribes, then?"

Nylan got a smile on his face, the expression that he would be happy to tell someone something they didn't know."Oh, yes," he said."There are six Sacred Tribes in all, each worshipping a different god."

Elia was confused."Aren't there only three Goddesses, though?"Was she mistaken?She thought that the Diolans, like Hylians, worshipped the three Goddesses, the creators of the Triforce.

"The most common ones, yes.But there are other gods of course.Why wouldn't there be?And they are also protectors of our people--peoples."Nylan took a sip of his tea, ready to begin with full gusto now."First, of course, is the First Tribe.They are believed to be the holiest of the tribes, for they are the chosen of the Goddess of Time Herself."

Elia nodded.She had heard of Her.The Goddess of Time governed all and owned all, was in everyone and everything.She listened patiently to Nylan talk of Her.How She was the continuity between worlds, because She was everywhere.

Nylan went on."There is the dark Second Tribe, worshippers of the God of the Dead."He grimaced."Their magic is of a foul sort, but is sometimes necessary."

"They live in secret," Bward whispered to Elia."In the shadows."

"Like the Sheikah," mused the woman, nodding her head to him.

Nylan cleared his throat, eager to continue."The Third Tribe is made up of the sages, the worshippers of the Goddess of Wisdom."

"Nayru?"

"Some give Them names.Yes, in Hyrule, I believe you know Her as Nayru.A Goddess of knowledge and beauty she is."Nylan looked around him, and realized that he would have to go on; he was quickly losing the attention of the bulk of his audience.Some of the yawns were even audible.He cleared his throat again and everyone sat up a bit straighter."The Fourth Tribe is the one that uses more force than any other; they follow the Goddess of Power, Din."

A wave of coldness passed through the air.They could all not help but to think of Ganondorf, for he had used the Triforce of Power to enslave the land for his own evil, selfish purposes.He had killed and hurt many during is reign, apparently even here, past the magic barrier.

Nylan chose to ignore this, for it was a thing no one wanted to talk about."That brings me to us," he said, gesturing to the people around him."We are worshippers of the beautiful Farore, Goddess of Courage.We use Her great magic for protection and, when we have to, for fighting."

It was not unlike Link.He didn't enjoy fighting, but he knew when he had to and he was unafraid to do so.Elia's heart skipped a beat, thinking of how valiant he was, how wonderful it was to have had him rescue her.

"And the Sixth Tribe?" Wonara prodded her husband so that he would move on.

"They worship the God of the Earth, who is in charge of the land.The Sixth Tribe is mostly made up of farmers," her husband said finally, giving his wife a strangely exasperated look.

"Does it mean…um…does it mean that each tribe follows only one God or Goddess?" Elia asked awkwardly, wondering what would happen to the people of Hyrule if they were split so.

"No, not really.We still sing praises to all of Them, because each one is of a different aspect of life," Nylan clarified, a reassuring smile on his face."But the Sacred Tribes bring some order to things.There is no way we could all learn every spell, nor would we want to."

Wonara put in, "All the Tribes, however, are closer to each other than to the other people of Diola."She shook her head."Some people believe us savages because we are in nature so much.They think it is silly to prefer tents to castles and houses.But a tent can be easily packed up and moved twenty miles in a day.I'd like to see their houses do that."

Nylan chuckled at his wife."True, true, my love."

Elia asked, "So not all Diolans belong to the Tribes?"

"Of course not," Baxt said, adjusting his small, green robe.He looked up at the guest's face, smiling bashfully.

Elia gave him a friendly nod in return.To Nylan and Wonara, she said, "How big are the Tribes, anyway?"

"There are probably a hundred in the Fifth Tribe!" Bward exclaimed proudly, scooting away from his twin when the other threatened to pinch him into silence.

"Each Tribe has around a hundred, usually, but the First Tribe has just forty members, and the Sixth Tribe at least two or three hundred."Again his voice was thick with the Diolan accent, and he looked at Elia especially.Did he know she'd noticed something earlier?Had it been anything at all?

As the group seemed to grow wearier, their eyelids dropping and their mouths yawning more often, Elia had to ask another question."May I ask, please, if you have heard anything about Link coming to Diola?"

"A fellow Tribesman of mine mentioned many moons ago that a young Hylian hero had asked for shelter one night, and was on his way the very next dawn."

"Was it Link?"

"I'm not certain," Nylan replied, inwardly wincing at her eagerness.She couldn't let her dreams cloud her reasoning too much, or she would soon throw herself into unnecessary danger.

"Then where can I talk to this man?" Elia asked, her heart beating quickly in her chest.It was the same feeling she had gotten when the old man told her about Link being captured in a tower somewhere.She simply _had_ to know more.

"He is with the rest of the Tribe, who will be coming here in a few days," the man told her earnestly.

"You are quite welcome to stay with us until they do come," Wonara told her warmly, smiling her motherly smile.

"Oh, yes," Nylan said after a nudge in the ribs from his pretty wife."Quite welcome."

"If it wouldn't be so much trouble--"

"No trouble at all!We even have an extra sleeping mat," Wonara cut in, again flashing that smile.Her eyes ventured to her two sons."Speaking of sleeping, I believe it is time to go to bed."

Bward protested, "I'm not tired yet!"However, his voice was slurred from drowsiness, and his twin brother was already snoring by his side.

"We are _all_ going to bed," Wonara said, her eyes concentrated on the boy.She stood and began to pick up the cups, laying them delicately in a wooden tub.

Mvon stood, too, and tended the fire.Xua went over and began working an incantation of the tent's entrance.Nylan walked around and adjusted the sleeping mats.Elia sat patiently, feeling bad that she didn't have a job to do.

Bward said in an extremely drowsy tone, "Where will the guest sleep?"

"She will sleep next to Mvon of course," Wonara replied.

Looking slightly disappointed, the boy nudged his brother awake with a bare toe.Then he dragged his feet to the upper corner of the tent, his twin crawling along behind, still mostly asleep.

Elia was shown to a place in the lower corner of the tent, diagonal from where the children slept.In the now darkened room, she quickly lifted her outer clothes off, piling them at her side.She then crawled under the thick blanket, finding it tremendously warm.And she had been worried that she'd freeze without aid of the fire!

She settled down into the layers of woven cloth, awaiting another night plagued with longing dreams and terrifying nightmares.

^-^-^-^


	4. Girl Talk and Bandits

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^-^-^-^

The next afternoon, Elia was out on an excursion to gather herbs with Mvon.They were deep in the woods that lay all around the river, which Elia had heard was named 'Chanta.'She thought everything in Diola had strange names, but guessed that Diolans would think no different about Hyrule.

Presently, the two young women were kneeling in the underbrush.There wasn't much of it since winter was fast approaching, but there were still many plants, both familiar and not to Elia, that had not gone dormant yet.Mvon's trained hands were expertly locating and pulling up various small plants, somehow managing to pull them up without much disturbance.Elia had done a lot of gardening in her free time, but she still didn't have the hang of bringing up a perfectly intact plant.

"Can you get that one over there?" Mvon requested, rubbing her soiled hands on what sparse grass there was.She gestured towards a plant that Elia was half stepping on.

"Sure," Elia said, finally glad to be of some assistance.She knelt down, trying to remember what Mvon had been doing.Her fingers curled around the stem gently, brushing against the ground.And then she gingerly, with as much grace as she could muster, tugged at an angle.

The plant, with its singular, snobbish yellow leave, refused to budge.

"Pull harder," Mvon advised.

Frustrated, Elia tightened her grasp and tried again, with ten times as much force.She soon found herself lying on her back, looking up at Mvon's amused expression.The plant was safely in her hand.

"You didn't have to pull quite _that_ hard," Mvon said, trying to suppress her giggles.With a quick 'thank you' she plucked the plant from Elia's now loose hold, running her tan fingers along the woody double-stranded root, which was probably two or three times as thick as the small leaf was.

"What kind of plant is that, anyway?" Elia asked, coming back up to her knees and furiously trying to get the dead leaves and grass from her wavy brown ponytail.

"Stubborn lil' thing, isn't it?" mused Mvon, turning the plant over in her hands."It's called the Triforce, actually, because of the three branches."She loosely pointed at each with her finger."It makes a very powerful healing brew, that even cures most illnesses.They are only found in this forest, these plants."

"Is that why you're harvesting them?" Elia asked, feeling stupid.She looked into Mvon's woven basket to see about half a dozen of the same plant, with a few other bits of greenery mixed in.

"Oh yes, they will be powerful bartering items when the Tribe has its Gathering in a few days," Mvon told her, dropping the Triforce into her basket.She stood, the raw earth abandoning the plain brown cloak she wore.

"So, Mvon," Elia began, starting to look around for another yellow leaf."Are you and Xua--"

"Xua?"Mvon tumbled backwards.Apparently she had pulled to hard on her next bit of harvest.Elia didn't think it was out of clumsiness, though; Mvon had been taken by surprise.

The brunette, who had so far failed in her search, gave the redhead a helping hand.Elia could see the red in her companion's tanned cheeks.

"You like him?" Elia said, turning back to her hunt.

"I-I…" she stuttered."I _don't_."

"Then why are you blushing?" the Hylian asked over her shoulder.She got back down to pull a new Triforce out.Happy with her success, she walked over and dropped it into the basket.

Mvon scrambled back to her feet."Maybe I do, then…"She sighed."Not that anything will come of it."She threw her newest prize down on top of Elia's.

"But why not?" Elia asked, trying to keep up with the other woman as she headed to a new area."He looks at you with longing, too."

Mvon spun around."Look, Miss Elia.Xua is a man of great powers.He has a high place in the Fifth Tribe.They are talking of marrying him to the Tribe's heir, the daughter of our leader.And I haven't heard him say one word against it."

Elia frowned slightly.

Suddenly reverting to her shyness, Mvon said quietly, "Forgive me.I did not mean to snap at you.It is just that it's so…frustrating."

"I know how you feel," Elia said encouragingly."It is very hard to fall in love with someone that is out of your reach."

"But you have that Link, don't you?And you said you know he loves you back…"Mvon did not put it into words, but it was clear she was trying to point out that their situations were completely different and that there was no way Elia could ever understand.

Elia let her eyes wander to the ring on her finger."It wasn't always so.And I still have my doubts."She cast her gaze upward, longingly watching as two birds flew over the trees above them.She turned, finally, back to Mvon."You have to believe or nothing will happen, Miss Mvon.If you give up your hopes and dreams, they will never be anything more."

"I wish to be part of a pair of such devoted lovers," Mvon whispered wistfully, closing her eyes."I love Xua," she admitted after a pause, her baby blue eyes fluttering open."More than anything."

"It is no good to tell me," joked Elia.She pulled up another Triforce, finding it slipping out of the earth easily.She was pleased with herself; she was getting better at this. Smiling warmheartedly at the other woman, she implored, "Tell _him_.He needs to hear this from _you_."

Mvon's eyes lit up for a moment, but she soon looked away."But--"

"But what?Are you going to give up and just go on anyway?Live a life of regret and sorrow?"Elia blinked, suddenly.She was talking to herself as much as--if not more so--as she was to the anxious woman before her.

Mvon nodded, slowly and carefully."I will do it.I will tell him."

"Good," Elia said, praying secretly that her advice would not cause any troubles for her new friend.

A small orb of light, glowing brilliantly indigo and no bigger than the tip of Elia's pinky finger, appeared before her eyes.She looked around to see a few of them flying around, darting around the big, established trees.

"Nightflies!" remarked Mvon."It is evening already!We had better hurry back!"She quickly scooped up the full basket of herbs.She took Elia's hand and pulled the bewildered woman back towards the tent. "Before the sun sets, there will be bandits crawling all over the forest.Hurry!"

Elia, her hand now released, jogged after Mvon, who was quite alarmed.They ran for a long while, and soon arrived at a clearing.

"Oh no!" Mvon cried, her voice full of despair.She looked at Elia with wide, frightened eyes."I've gone the wrong way!"

Elia felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise, felt her heart beating wildly with fear inside her chest.She didn't know how to defend herself.And apparently Mvon either didn't either, or wasn't sure of her abilities.

Elia licked her lips."Calm down, Miss Mvon…You are sure you don't have any clue where we are?"

Mvon nodded.Tears were visible around her eyes, slowly slipping down her tanned face."They are sure to rape us!"

Elia froze.It made sense, didn't it?Two young, good-looking women alone in the middle of the woods…Bandits, a smelly, bad natured group of brutes…Put them together and you had a horrible situation.At least for the women involved.

And then the men came.There were five of them, dressed in black and brown cloth.They did smell bad; the stench of old liquor and rotted wood was heavy on them.They were laughing, all of them, crooked daggers bouncing at their sides.

Mvon let out a helpless wail.

"Miss Mvon, don't you know _anything_ that will keep them at bay?A spell, perhaps?"

"I don't know many spells…and most of them involved healing mixtures!" Mvon managed to get out, her sobs really congesting the flow of conversation.

Elia groaned.The men were closing in on the two women, who were huddling together in pure fear."We have to do _something!_Claw at them, blind them with dust--_come on, Mvon!_"

"G-Go away," stuttered the Diolan woman, not even bothering to look up at her soon-to-be captors.

The bandits laughed heartily.One of them, a particularly ugly one with messy black hair and a matching beard, declared something quite boisterously.However, his strange accent was so thick and heavy that Elia couldn't make out a word he said.Still, she was somewhat sure they were speaking the same language.

The image of Link flashed through her mind.She couldn't give in now.Biting her lip, Elia picked up a handful of dry dirt as discreetly as she could.When the leader, the one who had spoken, came up to her, she threw it into his eyes.

It didn't do much.

"Elia!" screamed Mvon, whose arms were now being held behind her by a half-naked bandit."_Help!_"Now she woke up, now she kicked and clawed as best she could.But the man who was holding Mvon was too strong for her, and probably two times as large.

Elia shrieked when she realized that she, too, was being held.She heard their laughing.She felt a small blow to her head.As she slipped from consciousness, she thought she saw a bright flash of light before them…

^-^-^-^


	5. The Fifth Tribe

^-^-^-^

^-^-^-^

"…lia…"

What?

"…awake…?"

Elia blinked her big, brown eyes open.Blurry at first, the figure of a young redhead was in front of her."M-Mvon?"

Mvon nodded excitedly.She was smiling brilliantly, looking more enthusiastic than the other woman had seen her before.Elia noticed the reason quickly, though; intertwined in Mvon's fingers were Xua's.

Seeing that his presence was acknowledged, Xua bowed to Elia, who was still lying down on a sleeping mat.Above them loomed the big, sloped ceiling of the tent, with its decorative designs.Had it all been a dream?

No, it couldn't have been a dream.Elia's head still throbbed from the blow she'd been dealt before."What happened?" she asked, struggling a bit to sit up.

"Xua…Xua saved us!" Mvon exclaimed, squeezing the man's hand."He came in and blew them all away with a spell, Miss Elia!"

Xua shrugged."Really, I didn't do anything that big…I was worried about you guys getting lost so late, so I came looking for you.I saw a big flash of bluish light, so I ran towards it.And I just used a simple wind incantation to take care of those bandits."

"Yes, yes!That's right!" Mvon remembered."Right when the guy hit you with a rock, a big blue light came out of your ring, Miss Elia!And then the bandits got scared for a few minutes…"

"My ring…" Elia looked at it, turned it around on her finger."This ring was given to me by Link.It's the only thing I really have to remember him by."

"Ah, so he enchanted it for you," Xua said, sounding most knowledgeable."He put some of his power into it for you."

"Really?" Elia asked, smiling to herself."I wasn't…I was not sure exactly _what_ happened.It has been a normal ring for the past five years, but I guess I was not in danger up until a short while ago."

"How many times has the ring come to your aid?"

"Twice, now.Once when a wolfos attacked me, and then this time."

"You are very lucky to have that.Still, please remember that it is a shield, and not a weapon.And you can't depend on it to keep you safe."

"I know that," deflected the woman."Don't talk to me as if I were a child…"

Mvon cleared her throat.

"Well, we should leave you to rest," Xua said, glancing up at Mvon."And," he added more quietly to Elia, "I am sorry if I offended you."

Elia nodded, but she was still angry.She turned over and tried to go back to sleep.

The next day passed fairly normally.However, Nylan and his family were buzzing about what was to happen the next day.It was the Gathering of the Fifth Tribe.Elia was nervous as well when she found out what it was.The Fifth Tribe would assemble right along the Chanta, and she would be able to meet with the man who knew of Link.

And soon the morning came.Elia had been especially tired, so she actually found herself rising late.When she was finally awake, there was no one left in Nylan's tent.The big room was in as much order as she had ever seen it; each blanket was folded on it's respective mat with the pillow on top, and the only dish that was out was one containing Elia's porridge.

She ate quickly after getting dressed.When Elia was finally ready to leave, one of the boys rushed in.

"Bward?" she said, surprised.

"Um, I'm Baxt," the boy said slowly.

Elia gasped."I'm sorry!" she told him, biting her lip."It's early in the morning and…"

"Don't worry about it," Baxt assured her.He had a big smile on his dark face, which Elia noted had strange green markings on it.Also, he had a thick green ribbon in each of his braids, whose tips brushed against the collar of a fine cloak.

"Shall we go?" Elia said, starting for the entrance.

"Um…"

"What is it?" she asked, a bit frustrated that she had to wait a bit longer to go outside and see what it was like.There was a lot of noise already, and she knew there must be a few more tents just past the tent flap.

"You're going to go outside, um, like that?" the boy said, his eyes on the ground.

"Oh!"Again the woman gasped. She came down onto her knees to be more level with Baxt's eyes."Could you help me to get dressed up, then?"

Baxt's green eyes twinkled."R-Really, Miss Elia?"

"Well I don't know about your traditions at all, now do I?" she said sensibly."You'll have to help me dress as a lady of the Fifth Tribe."

"Okay!"

Baxt hurried around the tent to retrieve a few items.He had Elia sit down so that he could brush through her long, wavy brown hair.He worked at pulling the thick strands up to the top of her head, and then worked at weaving them into a complex braid, not unlike his own.The result was a thick braid that dangled down from the top of Elia's head down a little past her shoulders.

Elia had been amazed at how deft and gentle the boy's hands were. She guessed that he would be a skilled craftsman someday—or maybe he already was.She could only smile when looking upon his cute, childish features.

Baxt fumbled through his stack of things for a small jar and a thin brush.The jar contained a beautiful green paint."Here," he said, showing it to her."How do you want me to decorate your face?"

"I don't know," Elia said honestly."What do you usually do?"

"Usually you have a friend do it with what they think is appropriate," Baxt told her."But I'm not sure, since you're a foreigner.What do you do with face paint in Hyrule?"

"Well, we really don't have it," Elia admitted."But can't you do it, Baxt?You are my friend, aren't you?"

The boy blushed."O-Okay then," he stammered."Close your eyes and hold still, all right?"

Elia did as she was told.She jumped a bit when she felt the cool brush touch her face, but again it was something easy tolerated; Baxt was deft and gentle with this instrument.After only five minutes or so, Baxt pronounced he was done.

"Can I see?" Elia asked, blinking her eyes back open.

Baxt put a mirror in front of her face.She could see a curved and straight line around her left eye, a small band across her nose, and a diagonal line descending down her right cheek.

"It means, um, 'beautiful spirit'," the child explained anxiously."Do you like it?"

"It's beautiful, Baxt.And I'm touched you would say such a sweet thing about me," Elia told him graciously.She planted a small kiss on his cheek.

Baxt could only smile his biggest smile.He silently handed her a thick maroon cloak and lead her out the door.

What Elia saw when she came out amazed her.When she had gone in the night before, the bank of the Chanta was a simple empty clearing, a flat space in the middle of a giant forest.A flat space lacking life and substance.

Not anymore.

Now where there once was nothing, there was a village.Dozens of tents were crowded into the area, with a floating bridge connecting opposite sides of the river.Fires burned in front of each tent.Vendors lined the 'streets', which were really just areas without anything else.In these makeshift streets were also entertainers.And the area was thick with people in their finest cloaks, crowding around various areas and mulling about.

The people were almost entirely blond, with the same dark skin and stout, muscular build that Nylan possessed.There were a few exceptions, but not nearly enough to dissuade Elia from feeling like a complete outcast.

Baxt tugged anxiously on Elia's sleeve, pulling her out of her dazed state of wonder.

"Hmm?" Elia asked finally, looking down at him."What's the matter?"

"I'm supposed to take you to see Father now," he said, pointing towards the other side of the river, where a few tents were very large.

"Oh…all right."Elia was slightly disappointed; everything around her looked very interesting, and she wished to experience it.

The two proceeded through the throngs of people over to edge of the river.Across the river was a strange floating device of boards with hollow wooden boxes underneath.Each side was tied to stakes with thick ropes.Elia also had a feeling that the bridge was protected by magic as well; she felt the aura of it as she cautiously stepped across behind Baxt.

"It is perfectly safe, Miss Elia," Baxt assured her, reaching out from the land as Elia teetered and tottered her clumsy way across."The bridge is made by us for us—why would it be anything but safe?"

"It's not the bridge I don't trust—" Elia caught herself from slipping off the edge "—but my own ineptness."She breathed a sigh of relief as her foot came in contact again with stable ground.

Baxt smiled."You did good, really."

"Did _well_," corrected a familiar voice.

"_Did well_," Baxt replied as an automatic response.He looked up."Mother!"

"Good morning, son, Miss Elia," Wonara greeted friendlily.Her hair was in a giant braid to her left, coming down to eclipse the upper part of that side.On her face was painted one green line above the left brow and one reddish above the right.She had on a short emerald cloak and big sweeping skirts of the same color were visible beneath.

"Good morning," Elia replied, glad that her everyday brown dress was hidden by the foreign overcoat Baxt had given her.

"I'll take you to see Nylan in the Elder's tent, Miss Elia.Run along and find your brother and Mvon, okay, Baxt?" Wonara instructed.

"Okay," Baxt said, all the happiness drained from his boyish voice.

Wonara stroked her boy's head lovingly."You can show Miss Elia around the Gathering this afternoon before the gala, all right?"

Baxt's little face brightened up again."Okay!"And he ran off, skipping across the bridge.

Wonara clasped her hands together."Shall we go?"

Elia nodded and followed quietly.When Wonara asked her to, the younger woman waited outside the opening of the largest tent.A abrupt gust of air chilled her exposed flesh, and the woman was thankful of the thick fabric wrapped around her body.She suddenly began to feel nervous. Why was there such a big deal over her?Inside, would she be hearing bad news of Link?

She didn't have long to worry, though; Wonara appeared after only a few moments.Elia was led into the huge room with an enormous sloped ceiling.It was hard to believe that the structure had only been set up the night before, for it already seemed like a permanent building.Sitting in a circle of short, rectangular stones were four unfamiliar men and women, Nylan, and Xua.Wonara pushed Mvon to the center of the circle before taking her seat beside Nylan.It was then that Elia noticed a very, very old man sitting in front of her.He had no beard, but plenty of long, white hair pulled into two braids and wrapped around his wrinkled head.

Not sure of what to do, Elia dropped to her knees in respect of the man.

"Good day to you, young lady," the old man said, his voice so thick with the Diolan accent and so worn away by age that he was next to impossible to understand.

"Good day, sir," Elia said, bowing her head slightly.She nodded at the other people in the room, and got murmurs of greeting in reply.

"It is a rare thing that we have foreigners in our country, you know.It is a blessing to have such a beautiful spirit in our midst."He chuckled, making Elia feel embarrassed about what Baxt had painted on her face.Was it improper for foreigners to do as the Tribesmen did?

"I was only trying to respect your traditions, sir," Elia said quite hurriedly.

The old man smiled."I am not making light of you, young lady.I am honored that you would think to do so.And I know that you certainly must be special for one of our own to put something as admirable on your face."

Elia nodded slowly.

There was a short silence, and then the Elder spoke again."Young lady, you must be wondering why you were brought before the Elder's Council this morning.And the reason is this:we have come to tell you that we know of your mission, and that, as a friend of our Secondary Leader, you are a friend of all of the Fifth Tribe."

And there were murmurs of agreement from everyone in the room, including two newcomers:a balding man with a beautiful young woman in tow.They bowed to the Elder and then introduced themselves to Elia, who stood when Wonara instructed her to do so.

"Ah, hello," said the man, who was impressively tall for a Fifth Tribesman.He looked to be somewhere around Nylan's age, with only a few wrinkles littering his brow.His garment was a deep, deep green cloak sewed with black leather and trimmed with gold.There were streaks of green running from his eyebrows to his jaw on either side, and he carried with him a feeling of firmness."I am Kobant, Leader of the most honorable Fifth Tribe of Diola."

"Pleased to meet you, sir."Elia curtsied."I am Elia, a traveler of sorts from the land of Hyrule."

Kobant's eyes flicked with something for only a second before he smiled and said, "Ah, yes, I have heard of you."He turned to the young woman at his side, a girl who was stouter than he, but very, very beautiful."This is my daughter, Jade."

Jade smiled sweetly."Father and I have heard that you come from Hyrule to find it's lost hero."

"Yes, that's true," Elia said meekly."I must apologize for imposing on your Tribe because of a trivial matter such as mine."

"Hmm," was all either of them said in reply.

^-^-^-^


	6. The Trance

^-^-^-^

^-^-^-^

The steam poured up from the ceramic mugs, filling the air with a sweet-swelling, thick smoke.The dwindling sunlight trickled over the horizon and through the barrier of trees and cliffs to touch the Fifth Tribesmen one last time before the night was full.

But up from the ground came the light of the fires, burning before each temporary dwelling.And torches' tremulous flames cast shadows all around the crowds of people gathered around the great river.

Music, too, filled the air with happiness.Men, women, and children alike were dancing and singing to their hearts' content.The gossip and conversation that passed was just another form of song, one that passed the quickest of all.Hugs and handshakes were being shared by old friends, while kisses graced the lips of long separated lovers.Happiness was a warm, insolating coat that cloaked them.

This, Elia realized, was the true essence of the Gathering.As she quietly walked the place in unfamiliar, formal garb behind trailing behind her on the freshly packed dirt, her eyes wandered about, acknowledging the new faces around her.For protection, Elia stayed close to Nylan and his family.When it was time to sit in the big circle of people, she chose a spot between Wonara and Mvon.

Things settled down, and people found their seats on the earth.The talking reduced to a mere murmur, a man covered head to toe in black stepped out.He seemed like a pretty ordinary man, until he began to talk and flames shot out his mouth.At first Elia didn't know what to think, but then all around her there was applause.

Two girls stepped out with torches strapped to their heads.They spun, dancing past the fire-breathing individual until green fires licked the sticks.The girls were also dressed in black, and, as it got darker, the only things visible were the green and red flames, dancing around each other.More performers must have come out; the number of lights multiplied.

There were oohs and ahhs from the children and polite applause from the adults.Elia found herself doing both.When the dancing was over, the performers began to take the forms of various shapes.Elia could only see that they resembled the symbols that were embroidered into every tent.

And then, suddenly, the dozen or so performers positioned their flames into a very familiar shape.With a flash of light, all flames turned to gold.A clear, distinct set of three triangles sparkled.

"Ah, the Triforce!" Baxt and Bward yelled excitedly, their cries joining those of many younger audience members.

Elia couldn't say anything.Her mouth was partly open, her eyes completely so.She tasted something salty and was thankful for the darkness.At least none of these strangers would see her cry.

Over an hour later, the entertainment moved on to something else.Several people joined hands around the perimeter of the clearing.After a while, small, bright green flames appeared over each person's head.With a small bit of chanting, the separate flames joined into one continuous circle of light, rising above the height of the highest tent to illuminate the area.

A short young woman dressed in a low-cut gown with a huge slit in the middle of the skirt stepped out, a crown of autumn flowers gracing her dark blond hair.There was a lot of cheering for her, and Elia wondered if she must be something like a princess.It was Jade, after all, the daughter of the leader.

Jade was smiling brilliantly, looking as beautiful as ever.She began to sing a song softly, and then more loudly.Still, Elia couldn't understand it.Firstly, it was in a heavy Diolan accent.Secondly—and more importantly—it was in some language that had never touched her long, pointed ears before.

She turned to Mvon, whispering quietly, "What's she singing in?"

Mvon, who seemed to be slightly disgruntled about just Jade's presence, said, "It's in Old Diolan, the language of the Gods."

"Shh!" said a man from behind them.

"Forgive us," Mvon said, bowing her head to them.Elia saw her squeezing onto Xua's hand protectively as Jade became more and more hypnotic before them.

A small group of men came out and sat down on the ground, adding their deep chants to Jade's light, high ones.After them came a band, each playing an instrument as they positioned themselves between the male chanters: a wood flute, a drum, a lyre, and a set of bells.Three dancers, rather scantily clad, came out and began to swirl about, thick, long green ribbons swishing around them.

Elia was about to ask Wonara a question, but when she looked, the woman's eyes were slightly vacant, as if she was in a trance.A bit disconcerted, she looked to Mvon.However, Mvon, Xua, and everyone around were in the same state.

What was going on?It didn't seem like anything bad, more like a peaceful state for everyone involved.Almost as though they were meditating.

Elia decided to try.She leaned back and closed her eyes slightly.The images of the performers in the middle circle blurred, becoming just swirling colors.She let the music pour into her long ears; let it seep into her mind.

Everything went white.

"Hey, Ellie!"

"What?"

"Ellie!"

Where was that voice coming from?

"S-Sister?" Elia asked, startled.There was her sister, as she was ten years ago.She was seated next to Elia as they sat on the ledge above the house.

"Ah, Elia, you're so silly!" Millie giggled. She swung her legs back and forth."Elia, I'm going to be married.Why are you all alone?"

"Millie, I…" She didn't know what to say.Finally, she told her quietly, "I'm not alone."

"Why, of course you're alone!If you weren't alone, you would be happy!"Millie giggled, twisting the end of her brown ponytail around her finger.Her eyes were a bright hazel, and right now they were full with a strange sort of mockery.

"I-I…"

"You're going to say you're happy, right?" Millie said, laughing."Hey, hey, Ellie!Do you remember when me and you were running really fast up the steps to the store, and you fell and cut your leg?Remember it was bleeding really bad, but you told me it was all right?"

"What…?" Elia asked, kind of confused."I suppose I remember."

Millie put her head back and laughed, inhaling lots of the fresh mountain air."Ellie, you're so silly.Don't you remember how you ran and hid, and when I found you, you were crying all alone?"

Elia couldn't say anything.Finally, she looked over to her sister.

But her sister wasn't there.

"Millie?"

No answer.

"Millie!Millie!"

There wasn't even an impression in the moist dirt where her sister had been.The tears started coming."Millie, don't leave me…Millie, don't leave me again…_Millie!_"

"Ah, Elia dearie."

Elia blinked."Dain?"

And there she was, the woman, older and wrinkled, looking more tired than Elia had ever seen her.She wasn't sitting; instead, she stood over Elia, looking down at her in a very motherly way.

"Dearie, are you a fool?"

"You think I am," Elia replied quietly.

"Ah, and so you are," Dain told her, leaning over a bit to stroke Elia's waves of auburn."But you're as much a fool as I."

Elia looked out over Kakariko."Dain, aren't we all fools?Fooled by deceptions of peace and happiness…?" she asked, the words coming slowly and distantly.

"Ach, you're an idiot as well.Foolery is the work of our hearts."

"Do you mean to say that I…that I'm just blindly following my heart?That I shouldn't do that?"

"No…no…child, I'm jealous of you…I used to be the way you were, when I was young."Dain chuckled."But you have to think more and not be blindly let into traps of deception…Watch yourself."And she disappeared.

Elia sighed."Everyone wants to mock me today," she muttered under her breath.

"Aw, well I don't want to mock you," said a new voice.

Elia's heart skipped a beat.Was that voice—that male voice—could it be…?

Link gingerly squatted down and pushed his big, muscular legs over the ledge to let them dangle.

"Link!" Elia exclaimed with joy."Oh, Link, are you really here?Are you really real?"

"I'm as real as you want me to be, Elia."

"What do you mean?"

"Because you sent me here…I'm here because your mind made me come."

"What?Please…you don't mean I made you up, do you?"

"You didn't make me up.But your mind brought me here now."

"So that means…that you're not really…you're not really here?"

He smiled, looking especially handsome."Ah, Elia…"He reached out and stroked her hair, pushing a loose bit behind her Hylian ear."You see everything as you want to see it."

"Link…"She reached out and tugged on his long green sleeve."Link, tell me you're real.I didn't make you up.Tell me that I didn't dream…tell me that you really existed, that you really do exist."

He gave her a strange look."I—"

"No!Wait!" Elia interrupted."I don't want to hear your answer."

"Why not?"

"Because…because…"She sniffled."If I…If I hear you say that you really did exist, and right now you are just an illusion created by myself, then I could be lying to myself again…but…But if you…if you…wouldn't lie, it would be me admitting the truth to myself…Please, please don't answer."

Link nodded solemnly."You have to go out and find the truth for yourself."His image flickered.

"No…!"Elia grabbed onto his sleeve tighter."Even if you are an illusion…please stay a bit longer!"

His smile was sad."Elia, I would if I could…but you're about to wake up."

"Link…I love you!"

"And—"

He was gone, as was the scene.Elia was back at the Gathering.

^-^-^-^


	7. Late Night Talk

^-^-^-^

^-^-^-^

"So you really went into Reverie?" Xua asked, sort of amazed.The family was walking over the _Chanta_ to where the feast was being served.

"Reverie?" Elia asked."I suppose so.I saw some people, and they talked to me."

"People?"Xua was very curious."As in who?"

"My sister…my friend…Important people."

"Such a complex Reverie," commented Nylan, nodding."Pretty impressive, given that no one explained it to you, Elia."

"And I apologize," Mvon put in quietly."I would have explained what was going on, but I didn't want to disturb anyone else."

"No, no," Elia assured her, and everyone else as well."It was fine."

"So," Baxt said."Who are we going to eat with this time?"

Bward piped up, "Can we eat with Dune?"

"Dune…?"Elia suddenly remembered.Earlier that day, during the afternoon feast, Nylan had told her that tonight they would eat with Dune, the man who had seen Link.

"Yes, you children like Dune, don't you?" Mvon said, smiling at the boys."I'll admit he _is_ a very interesting guy."

Wonara said, "But I haven't seen him yet.What about you?"

The response was the same from everyone, except Elia of course.No one that knew Dune had seen him.

"Did he even come?" Bward asked, sounding especially depressed.

"I have seen hide nor hair of his clan, either.His sister, his cousin…Where are they?" Xua asked.Everyone began to sound alarmed.

"We shall go talk to the Kobant," Nylan said to his brother in a somber tone."Either him or the Elder."

Xua nodded."You," he said, gesturing to the rest of them, "eat something and we'll get back to you."

Before anyone could argue, Xua and Nylan disappeared into the throng of people.

"What will we do?" Mvon said, her voice a bit desperate.

Wonara sighed."We'll do as they asked.Don't panic, Mvon," she said to her cousin.

"Mother, will Dune be okay?" Baxt asked, tugging on her sleeve."Mother?"

"Mother!" Bward said, taking the woman's other hand.

Elia gulped.Would Dune be okay?Whoever he was, and whatever was going on, it surely wasn't good.She closed her eyes, forced the thoughts out of her head, and put on a smile."Hey you two, do not bother your mother like this," she giggled, bending over to look them both in the eye."I am sure that everything will be okay, so right now I need someone to help me pick out some food.Would you like to help me?"

The boys looked up at Wonara, who gave them a relieved nod of approval.Elia took each one by the hand and let them guide her forward to the rows of short tables piled high with delicious foreign foods.

It was over an hour past midnight when Nylan and Xua arrived home.Although the others had gotten there just half an hour earlier, it seemed that they'd be waiting forever.The twins had tried to stay up, but had no success.They were both sleeping peacefully.

Wonara sat with Baxt spread over her lap, her hands working gently to unbraid his hair.She took the coarse brush and pulled it through her son's thick strands, extremely softly so as not to disturb him.

Mvon was busy tucking Bward into bed, pulling the covers tightly around him so he wouldn't get a chill during the cool night.His hair was already unbraided; he had been less stubborn about getting ready to sleep than his brother.

Elia just sat on her sleeping mat, feeling out of place.She was wearing her sleeping gown, and her hair cascaded down around her shoulders in its usual wavy fluffiness.

A crack of thunder announced their arrival.Nylan came first, followed by a concentrated Xua.Both men looked concerned, practically shocked.They came in and sat down.

Wonara handed Baxt off to Elia, who put the boy into bed, and hurried to tend her husband and brother-in-law, giving them both a fresh, steaming mug and taking their cloaks in return.When all of this was finished, she sat down to listen like the rest of them.

Nylan began with a sigh."Dune…is not here."

"What?What do you mean?" Mvon asked anxiously.

Nylan opened his mouth again, but no words could come.He looked to Xua, who continued in his place.

"We had to wait a long time to speak with the Elder, who happened to be with the Leader.They told us that Dune went to go see his sister."

There was a long pause.Finally, Elia smiled and said, "Oh, that doesn't seem so bad, does it?"

Nylan just shook his head.

Xua said, "No, that's not exactly it.He got a vision that his sister was dying, and so he set out on a dangerous path to see her…in Hyrule."

Elia froze."His sister lives in Hyrule?"Then she shook herself off.There were thousands of people in Hyrule.She probably wouldn't know whoever it was.Besides, she didn't know of anyone who was dying.

"That she does," the younger man said."But…Dune is in much danger.He went alone."

Mvon and Wonara gasped together.Another eerie silence filled the tent, chilling everyone to the bone more than the blustery weather outside.

Mvon said quietly, her voice thoughtful and distant, "I understand his motivations, but…But Dune is older now; it is too dangerous."She looked up at Xua."He…he probably took the most direct route to Hyrule as well."

Xua nodded."Even worse, over the winter he suffered a fever and lost most of his hearing.His memory is fading as well, I'm afraid…he has experienced many illnesses in the last ten years.It is sad."

Wonara broke in, her voice higher and more panicked than Elia had heard it before."What?That's awful!How can you brush it off as 'sad' when Dune—when his life is in danger!"

"Wonara," Nylan said, gesturing to his wife.

She stood up and sat with him, wrapping her arms around him."Nylan, Nylan…Dune has to be all right.Nylan…"

Elia was amazed.Wonara was always so calm and collected.Now she was like a little girl, not in the arms of her husband, but of a comforting father figure, grabbing him and holding on.It was so scary to see people like her cry and weep.Elia herself did it all the time, but she attributed it to her weak character.Here was someone so somber and resigned panicking.Yes, it was frightening indeed.

Mvon kept her eyes on the floor."Xu…Xua, can you see if he's still all right…?"

"I honestly do not know," Xua said helplessly."I can't seem to hone in on his signs.I wish I knew the man better; that would help.But I shall keep trying."

"Yes," Nylan spoke again."We can't give up hope.Dune may still be all right.He might succeed, even taking…even though he took such a dangerous path to Hyrule.He is not a stupid man, nor a weak one."

"And his family is searching for him.They stayed in the area where he was last seen," Xua explained."They are all good people.I am sure things will work out."

"There is nothing more we can do for tonight.Tomorrow we shall make plans about what to do," Nylan said, pulling the ribbons from his hair.He sighed again.

"Yes, I suppose," Mvon said, going to crawl under her blankets.She looked rather tired, but awkward about the situation nonetheless.

The others each followed suit, and the fire was put out.Several minutes of silence passed, and Elia was sure everyone had fallen asleep out of pure exhaustion.But after the recent discussion, and especially after the strange trance—it was too disturbing a prospect to consider going to sleep and having nightmares.

Images of the day's events, sounds of the conversations…they all passed through Elia's mind, becoming more and more ruthless as she tried to push them away.She tried to think of something happy, but there really wasn't anything happy to concentrate on.

She was on perhaps a futile mission to save someone she wasn't sure about…she had severed her relationship, her only true friendship, with Dain…her family had abandoned her…and now these people, these people that seemed like a new family…they were all worried about a friend who might be dead…

"Nylan…" she heard a soft voice whisper.It was Wonara.Apparently, Elia had been wrong about being the only one awake.

"What is it, love?" Nylan asked.

"Oh, Nylan, what will happen?I'm so afraid.I can't show the boys, but…but Nylan, I'm scared.With everything that's happening in Diola now…And Dune is wandering recklessly?And what will you do?"

"I don't know yet, Wonara dear.However, I shall probably go and look for Dune as well."

"No!" cried Wonara, catching herself and quieting her voice down severely."I don't want to lose you, Nylan…"

There was the sound of a long, shared kiss, and Elia tried to go to sleep so that she wouldn't eavesdrop anymore.Still, she, too, wanted to hear what Nylan planned to do.

After a while, Wonara murmured, "The Tribe shall be heading west soon, though."

"I know.I will have to catch up."

The way he said it announced something.

"Nylan, you aren't thinking about going—you're determined to go."His wife struggled when saying the words, and Elia could hear that she was quietly weeping now.

He said nothing.

"No, I don't want to lose you again…"

"But I came back that time, didn't I?"

"After ten years."

"It was so long, Nylan…you're not saying it will be that long again?"

Another long kiss.

"Of course not.But I did what I had to, that time.And I shall do so again."

"And I shall wait again."

"Hmm, we are not so different from that girl and her hero, are we, love?"

"I suppose not.I envy her her naivety…I too possessed that when I was in her position.I hope that she…that she doesn't end up as I did."

"What do you mean, my love?If she would end up like you have, then she would be the most wonderful woman in the world."

Wonara's smile was practically audible, and there was a great amount of rustling as she embraced her husband under the safety and warmth of the quilts."Still, you know what I mean," she said more somberly."And what are we to do about poor Elia anyway?"

"You should take her with you as the Tribe travels, I think."

Elia almost voiced her objections, then remembered that they thought she was asleep.She didn't want them to know that she had overheard such a private conversation, so she continued trying to fall asleep, which was nearly impossible.

"I don't think she will like that," Nylan admitted, "but what else I am to do?She is a sweet girl who needs to be taken care of.It seems to me she has had a lonely life as of yet, but there's no reason for her to continue like that."

"She has a lot of hope and determination, Nylan.I think she might like to come with you.You did tell her that Dune was the one who knew about Link—or, rather, who we _think_ was Link."

"You're right as always, Wonara.She has made it this far.I'm sure she's not about to passively give up a chance to find someone who might know something about Link."

There was a long, thoughtful pause.

"Hey, love?"

"Hmm?" Wonara mumbled.

"Would you want to go for a walk?"

"Right now?"

"Why not right now?"

"Everyone's asleep."

"That's why."

Wonara gasped and giggled."Nylan, it's raining too."

"There are bushes out there."

There was more giggling, and lots of rustling as the two got up and gathered their cloaks."Sneaking off in the middle of the night to do this…Nylan, it's just like when we were young."

"What are you talking about?" Nylan wondered."We're still perfectly young."

"I guess you're right," agreed Wonara with lots of laughter in her soft voice.

Elia looked over to see their two darkened silhouettes, hands intertwined, sneaking out into the night.She could only smile.

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	8. They're Off...

^-^-^-^ Valued Gateway Client Normal Valued Gateway Client 1 18 2001-11-07T23:03:00Z 2001-11-07T23:22:00Z 7 2620 14935 Gateway 124 29 18341 9.2720 

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            As Nylan had predicted, Elia insisted upon going with him and Xua to search for Dune.  "At least his family might know something about Link, and then I could go look for him."

            "It's not as easy as that," Nylan told her.

            "But…but I can go with you?"

            "I'll think about it," he said.

            Elia thought she was being treated like a little child, and didn't like it.  However, she decided not to comment because she knew Nylan had a lot of burdens already.  But her determination to go and to prove herself was renewed.

            "I'll go, Nylan," she told him before leaving to go wash up after breakfast.  Worried about what kind of answer he might give, the young woman hurried out.

            She ran out into the chilly autumn morning, almost bumping into a few people as she made her way to the river and Mvon, who had left a few minutes earlier.  Elia had been hoping to talk to Mvon about a few things, but the red-haired woman was already in a serious discussion with someone else.

Xua.

            "You…You…" Mvon was crying, disbelief in her widened eyes.  "How…?"

            "Mvon, it's something we have to deal with.  It'll be better this way."

            "B-Better?" the woman stuttered, taking a step back.  "Xua, how is this _better_?"

            "I'm sorry if I led you on, Mvon," Xua said to her quietly.  "I didn't mean to."

            "Xua, after we…after we…!  If you knew…then why…?"

            "It's best if I tell you now instead of later, isn't it?"

            "It would have been _best_ if you had never…if we hadn't…"  Mvon shrieked and threw a wild punch at his arm, which he dodged instinctively.  "Go away!" she yelled then.  "I wish never to see you again!"

            Xua sighed and turned around.  His back had been to Elia the whole time, but he was now walking towards where she stood.  Quickly, she ducked behind a tree and pretended to have just been approaching from another direction.  She knew that Xua could probably detect the truth, though, and that he most likely knew that she had been there to hear part of the conversation.  But he didn't acknowledge her presence, instead walking swiftly past her.

            Elia watched him for a second, then ran over to Mvon, who had collapsed and was sobbing, her face in her knees, her whole body shaking.

            "Mvon," was all the other woman could say.  She would have asked, 'Are you all right?' but the question was silly and, in this case, almost insulting to vocalize.  Mvon was most visibly not all right.

            "He…he…" was all the Tribeswoman could get out.  Another sound that very much resembled "betrayal" came out, but Elia wasn't sure.

            The Hylian couldn't think of anything to say.  She instead took the handkerchief she'd been carrying and soaked it with the icy river water.  Then she lifted up Mvon's face and washed it off gently.

            "Th-Thank you, Miss Elia," Mvon said after a while, taking the cloth in her delicate, tan fingers and furiously rubbing her tear-stained eyes.  "Xua broke it off with me.  He said…he should be with Miss Jade.  He says that it's for the 'good of the Tribe', but I know that's a lie.  I saw him looking at her."

            "But I thought you two…I mean, the way he looked at _you_…"

            "I know.  I thought so too, but he says that he's stopped liking me.  It was just a fling.  Once he saw Miss Jade again, apparently his feelings changed…"  She began crying again.

            "Mvon…I see that yours haven't," Elia said softly, feeling helpless.  She started to feel angry, too; why would Xua be so cruel to someone that he'd cared for just a day ago?

            "I wish I could have a heart that would switch over as easily as his," Mvon said, bitterness creeping into her voice as she tried to rid her face of the new storm of tears.  "Oh, I'm glad that he'll be leaving for a while.  I have to get out before he comes back.  I wish never to sleep under the same—"  She gasped.

            "What?  What's the matter?"  Elia almost jumped up, but Mvon stayed firmly in her position, crumpled on the ground.

            "Miss Elia, Xua and I…  Ah, perhaps words are something that can be taken back, but…but…"

            "Mvon," Elia assured, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder, "you don't have to say anything you don't want to.  You don't have to tell me anything, okay?  Not if you don't want."

            Mvon sniffled.  "I suppose you are right.  I really…don't want to talk about it anymore."

            "And you don't have to," Elia told her, forcing a smile.  She helped the other woman to get up and they both went over and scrubbed their hands and faces, shivering to be touched by the icy water.

            Afterwards, with their cold hands buried in the folds of their heavy cloaks, the women wandered about the area.  They came to a stop at a cart that was laden with fur goods, being watched over by a fairly average Fifth Tribeswoman, someone Mvon apparently knew.

            "Good morning, Mvon!" said the girl happily.

            "Good morning," Mvon greeted, smiling slightly.  The two got into a short, everyday conversation.  They were catching up on a few things, apparently.  A few things that Elia had no idea about.

            "Hey, are you still staying by yourself?" Mvon asked, nearer the end of the conversation.

            "Yes," replied her friend, gesturing to a very small tent behind her.  "Same old little thing.  Why?"

            "Oh," Mvon began, quite subdued.  "Do you think that I could stay with you?  Just for the night?"

            The girl seemed rather confused, but she agreed and Mvon and Elia were off back to the tent to meet up with Wonara.

            They discovered Wonara busily fussing over something in the corner, which turned out to be sewing up holes in various items.  She had in one hand a pair of leather tights and in the other a thick metal needle laced with a thick thread of fur.

            "Oh, girls," Wonara said, not looking up for more than a second.  "I'm glad you're here.  I was just fixing up these pants of Nylan's.  There's lots to do, so would you two mind helping me?"

            "No," they both said.

            "Ah, good," Wonara said.  "Now, Mvon, I know you know how to take care of the meat.  So you go and get it; it's hanging outside."

            "Yes, cousin," Mvon said, turning around and heading out.

            "Elia?"

            "Yes, ma'am?"

            "I'm going to need you to start packing."

            "All right.  What do I pack?"

            "The things are already laid out—just put them into the sacks—tightly please, and then we'll put them into the saddlebags later."

            Elia surveyed the items, which mostly consisted of clothes and blankets, and carefully began folding them up.  There were small sacks to the side, and she started filling them by first putting as many shirts into one as she could.

            "This fur thread," Wonara said, picking up a rough knife and severing the end with it, "is very good.  It not only keeps the seems warm, but it's amazingly strong."

            "I don't think I've seen anything like it in Hyrule," Elia said.

            "That's probably because you don't need such warm clothes there in Hyrule.  No offense, but many Hylians live in cozy little towns and don't bother with going outside as much as they should.  Besides, Diola has a colder climate and a much more varied one.  That's why our Tribe will be heading west in a few days."

            "But…won't Nylan, Xua, and I be heading east?"

            "And south," Wonara added, pausing for a moment.  "We'll head separate ways along the _Chanta_…"  She looked up at the younger woman.  "Elia, promise me that you'll look after Nylan."

            "Oh, but I—I mean he is a warrior—and older, and stronger—"

            "No, no."  Wonara shook her head.  "As a woman would look after a man, look after Nylan.  Make sure he takes care of himself.  He often gets too wrapped up with other people's troubles and forgets completely that he has needs too."  She put her head down to look at her work, but Elia saw small, circular stains appear on the breeches in Wonara's trembling fingers.

            Elia left her alone, stuffing the items delicately into the sacks.  "Wonara, ma'am…don't…I mean, you think we should try and convince Nylan not to go?"

            Wonara, to Elia's great surprise, chuckled a little.  "Ah, you are young, Elia."

            "I know that he might be a bit upset, but if it's for his safety, then surely he would think about it a bit more."

            Wonara shook her head, still a slight smile on her mature face.  "Nay, girl…  Have you not been in the world long enough to see how set people are in their ways?  As soon as Nylan heard Dune was in danger, his mind was made up to go after him.  Nothing I can do will persuade that man, nothing.  Besides…  Dune means a lot for me too.  In a way, I really need Nylan to go and make sure Dune's all right."

            "It's complicated I guess," Elia said quietly.

            "Child, all things are complicated."

            The next morning was an especially chilly one.  The sun had yet to peek over the far eastern horizon when Nylan, Xua, and Elia gathered to say their goodbyes to Wonara and the twins.

            The horses—Celine and two steeds for the men—were laden down with saddlebags filled with provisions and winter clothing.  Nothing was said, but the amount of supplies suggested a very long trip.  

            "Father, father," cried Baxt and Bward together, running to Nylan.  They clung onto his legs.

            "Father, bring Dune back safe," Bward pleaded.

            "Father, please take care of Miss Elia too," Baxt said, a bit more quietly.

            Elia smiled and hugged the boy tightly, and then his brother.  "I'll be right back," she told them.  "I think I'm going to go see Mvon before we go."  She added a particular emphasis to the last words she spoke, glaring at Xua from the corner of her eye.

            "Yes, yes," Nylan told Elia.  "Send our greetings to her as well."

            Elia nodded and left, running to the middle of the encampment.  She found Mvon just leaving the tent of her friend.

            "Oh, Miss Elia," Mvon said in a dejected voice.  "Aren't you leaving this morning?"

            "Yes, but I came to say goodbye.  For myself and…the others."

            "Ah, Nylan," Mvon acknowledged.  "Give him my best.  And tell my cousin I'll be coming home after I eat."

            Elia nodded.  Neither of them chose to mention Xua.  At this moment, it seemed taboo.  

            "Oh!"  Mvon suddenly exclaimed.  "Just a moment."  She disappeared into the tent, reappearing a few minutes later.

            "I must be going, I'm afraid," Elia said, bowing her head.

            "Yes, yes, but I want to give you this."  She held out her hand.  Elia did the same, and Mvon dropped a sparkling chain into it.

            "For me?"

            Mvon nodded.  "In my tribe, the custom is for friends to exchange a special trinket when they part."

            Elia smiled and put her arms around Mvon.  "Thank you so much!" she exclaimed.  "I wish I had something to give in return…"

            Mvon shook her head.  "No, no.  Just be sure to come back and return the necklace."

            "I will.  Thank you, Mvon.  Take care."

            It was not five minutes later when the party was off, heading at a brisk pace on their horses along the _Chanta._  Elia looked back one last time and saw Wonara wiping tears away as the twins looked wearily after their father.

            Elia reached up to her neck and felt the silver choker.  It was a simple piece of jewelry, but it meant a lot.  For the first time in a very long while, Elia had found friendship.  Not just with Mvon, but with Nylan and the others.

            The three rode silently on, Elia many leagues away in her thoughts, when suddenly Nylan stopped in front of her.  Celine reared slightly, almost throwing Elia off.  Xua, somehow, managed to come to a rather smooth stop behind her.

            "Wh-What is it?" Elia breathed, squeezing the reigns tightly.

            "Don't you see the fog?" Xua practically groaned.

            "You're moody as of late," Elia snapped, not bothering to waste any words.  This man had hurt Mvon, probably for a long time to come.  Still, she looked around and noticed the thick, encompassing cloud.  "When did this happen?"

            Nylan's voice was firm and low.  "All of a sudden.  It might not be natural."

            Xua lowered his eyes and started chanting slowly.

            Elia felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.  "Nylan…?"

            "Our boat is not very far from here," Xua said in his mystical tone of voice.  He lifted his head and pointed to his left.  His green eyes were glowing darkly, and Elia shuddered to see them look that way.

            "Get down from your horses," Nylan instructed, hopping gingerly down from his.  "It is far too dangerous to ride; the footing here is bad even with full daylight."

            Elia did as she was told.  Evildoers?  And so soon?

            The truth was that she hadn't known what to expect.  Nylan and the others had vaguely mentioned danger in heading after Dune.  She didn't know who the danger came from though—or perhaps, rather, _what_.

            "Elia, get back!" Nylan roared.  A flash of blinding light burst from his thick, curved fingers.

            Elia felt the energy knock her over from Celine.  The horse whinnied and her hoofs were suddenly over Elia's head, threatening to come down upon it.  The girl screamed, and then she felt a tugging on her arms.

            Celine came down hard.  Her back right hoof fell into the exact spot Elia's head had been a second before Xua pulled her back.

            There was a high scream piercing the air.  Several seconds went by until the brunette realized that it was her own cry of fear.

            "Be quiet!" said Xua in a threatening tone, clamping his hand down over her mouth.

            But it was too late.

            The enemy had been aware of their presence even before Elia had screamed.

            Someone cloaked in black fell from the trees, landing just before Nylan.  It seemed to be a ninja of some sort, with black from head to toe.  He—for it very much _looked_ like a man, at least—was tall and lanky, a blade attached to the end of an outstretched arm.

            Xua, next to Elia, growled something about a 'Second'.  Was that a Second Tribesman, then?  He did seem like a shadow creature, that he did.  But she had envisioned them to be like the mystical Sheikah, and this violence was most unlike the people she knew of.

            "Get away from here," Nylan said in such a menacing voice that Elia almost didn't recognize him.  "We have no business with you."

            The man scoffed.  He spoke, and his voice didn't sound like a voice but rather like an echo, a deep, dark sound that chilled Elia.  "Your business is of little importance.  Our business is priority."

            "Like hell it is."  Nylan lifted up his arms and cried out something in a strange tongue.  A splattering of green and very, very white light erupted across the stranger's body.

            "We've got to get out of here!" Xua yelled, grabbing Elia and pulling her up.  "There's others!"  He tugged her swiftly through the trees and the dense fog.  Next to them, Nylan was running as well.

            "The boat's just up ahead," Nylan said in between heavy breaths as they hurried on.  "We'll use it to escape."

            "But Celine—" Elia started to say, but her feet were suddenly wet and she realized they had reached the shore.  She could just barely make out the outline of a wooden boat to her right, and, before she knew what was happening, she was inside of it.

            Xua let out a great yell as he cast some sort of wind spell that both blew the boat into motion and dispersed some of the heavy fog.

            Elia, catching her breath, sat up in the boat and looked at the shore.  Several blurry figures, clothed all in black, were retreating back into the thick gray fog.  The fog, in fact, traveled away with them.

            She looked over at Nylan, who was slowly regaining his composure.  Part of his hair had come loose from its braid; it hung limply in front of his eyes.  He didn't even bother to push it away just yet.

            Elia's own hair was a bit unkempt at the moment.  And now it was blowing in the fast breeze created by the high velocity of the boat.  Even on Celine, Elia had never gone so fast.  On either side of the small vessel, trees and shoreline zipped past.  Around them, water pushed out and made huge waves.

            Elia had a thousand questions to ask, but she didn't voice even one of them.  Somehow, she was a bit too scared to find out the answers.  That and she didn't wish to bother either Xua or Nylan.

            So they rode on in silence, a small green orb of Xua's creation surrounding them and, as Elia assumed, protecting them as well.  It was probably like what Nylan had used previously to guard the horses.

            "It's unnerving, Nylan," Xua spoke finally as his fingers unbraided his hair so that he could do it tightly once more.  "The Second Tribe so close to our camp."

            "Our horses will return and they will alert the Elder and the others to the situation," Nylan said, his words confident but his voice saying otherwise.  "Hopefully, our escape showed them that the Fifth Tribe is not made up of dormant weaklings."

            "But we _ran_, Nylan," Xua reminded his brother, beginning to weave the thick strands together once more.  

            "We couldn't afford to waste any more time.  Besides, the journey to Dune is going much faster this way, you see?  If we had the horses, we would not be able to go so swiftly."

            "Will my Celine be all right?" Elia asked quietly.

            "She will know to follow our horses back to camp.  She has been around them for a few days now; they surely have communicated."

            "Really?"

            "Horses are more intelligent than you think," Nylan told her, winking.  "Animals are probably smarter than us, but are so smart they do not let on to it."

            Elia had to grin at that.  "I never thought of it that way.  I think that you must be right."

            Nylan laughed.  "I was only joking, child."

            She blushed and mumbled quietly to herself, "I still believe you're right."

            Again silence overtook the party.  The wind rushing through her hair and the sound of the boat slicing through the water of the river relaxed her, and she began to go back to her daydreams.  Yes, the young woman was aware that a very serious situation was overtaking them, but the atmosphere was too calming to dwell on it.

            They would soon find Dune and he would give them clues about Link's location.  And then they would go after the hero and finally, finally after five years she and Link would be reunited.  They would travel back to Hyrule.  She would make up with Dain and work for a while longer at the tavern, at least until she and Link started having children.

            Ah, such a beautiful future was just within her grasp!  Just a bit longer, just a few more days of waiting…

            Surely her dreams were about to come true.

^-^-^-^


	9. The Sacred Temple

^-^-^-^ Valued Gateway Client Normal Valued Gateway Client 1 1 2001-11-11T18:18:00Z 2001-11-11T18:19:00Z 9 3839 21884 Gateway 182 43 26875 9.2720 

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            The sun was just slipping down below the trees, escaping the sea of oranges and purples that surrounded it.  Elia realized that she must have fallen asleep, because the last thing she remembered was when the sun was directly overhead.

            The boat was still zipping along, maybe just a bit slower than it had been before.  Everything else had changed now, though.  The river had grown wider and the dense forest on either side of them was now transforming into a combination of green and red; the red being tall, rocky bluffs.

            "We're entering the Sacred Canyon," murmured Xua.  He looked over to see that Nylan had dozed off, his dignified head leaning on the side of the boat.  The coherent man's eyes drifted to Elia.  "You woke up just as he fell asleep."

            Elia nodded slowly.  She cringed as she felt a pain in her neck.  Instinctively, her smallish hand reached up to grasp it.

            "I think you were sleeping in a bad position," observed Xua.

            The woman said nothing and began to rub her neck.

            "Elia, you cannot continue not talking to me."

            Silence was his reply.

            "Maybe you can," he groaned, turning his attention back to the altering landscape.  "Once we get through the Canyon, we will get off and start walking through the mountains."

            Elia almost said something at that, but she clenched her lips.

            "The last time I had someone punish me by not speaking was ten years ago," Xua commented.  "If you want to rescue the Hero of Time, you are really going to have to grow up."

            She gritted her teeth.

            Xua sighed.  "Elia, I wish I could explain to you my reasons.  I know you think I've abused Mvon, but—"

            Elia said in a very low voice, so as to contain her building anger and not wake the dozing Nylan, "How dare you speak so callously, Xua.  You didn't just abuse her, you used Mvon's _heart_!  You trampled her feelings and broke her spirit.  It's not as if you kicked a dog or something."

            He sighed again.  "It is not easy to know the future, Elia.  And it is far worse to only have vague impressions of it—but enough to know if what will result is good or bad.  It is not that I do not care for Mvon, but it is that I _do_ love her."

            "I do not believe you," hissed Elia.  "Such a cruel thing to do, to say that you love her when you hurt her so badly—or vice versa."

            "Elia, I know that I cannot be with Mvon.  Everything I do is for a reason."

            "What reason could there possibly be to torture her as you have?" she asked, her voice growing louder and angrier.

            "Elia, do you want Mvon to die?" Xua yelled.

            And there was complete silence.  Elia blinked.  She had never seen him so angry before.  He was always so calm.  But now Xua looked so upset that she was afraid the man might actually cry.

            "Now, now here.  What's this?" spoke a drowsy voice from the other side of Elia.  "No time for arguments."

            "S-Sorry to have awakened you, Nylan," stuttered Elia once she came a bit out of her shock.

            "Hm," Nylan mumbled.  "No time for apologies either, I think."  He sat up and rubbed his eyes.  "It seems we've reached the Sacred Canyon already!  Xua, prepare for a stop."

            "Stop?  But we have to progress through the Canyon to the mountains," Xua pointed out, confused.  He sounded like a completely different person than he had a minute ago; instead of the fierce man, more like a bewildered youth in the shadow of his brother.

            "Plunge into a war zone without paying a visit to the temple?  Are you out of your mind?"

            "Oh yes," the other man replied.  "I forgot."

            "_Forgot_?  Brother, I think you need to become more focused here."

            Xua bowed his head.  "Forgive me, Nylan."

            "Did I just not say we had no time for apologies?  The sun is almost gone; we will be walking to the temple by moonlight if you do not hurry."  Nylan sighed and began fastening up his cloaks.

            Xua stood and put his arms up.  Before Elia knew it, the boat had almost stopped completely and she was thrown to the other side of it.  The standing man looked at her strangely before sitting back down.

            Elia tried to get up, but found she could not; she had managed to get the middle of her body wedged in between the seat and the side of the boat.  She blushed heavily.  Xua would now proceed to look down on her more.  How had he managed to keep standing so perfectly?

            Fortunately, Xua seemed completely oblivious to her embarrassing predicament.  He jumped out of the boat (causing it to rock and get Elia even further stuck), and pulled the rope on the front of it towards the shore.

            "Are you requiring some assistance, fair lady?" Nylan inquired, leaning down from outside the boat.

            "Oh, yes, thank you," Elia said, wriggling her hand free and giving it to the man.

            He pulled, and she flew up and out of the boat, almost tipping the vessel over.

            Elia sighed.  She was now on her hands and knees in icy water, with bits of rock pushing at her from below.  The water was amazingly clear though; she could clearly see the little fishes investigating her pale fingers.

            "Are you about finished with your bath?" Xua said, irritated.

            Elia looked up and saw him standing on the edge a little alcove formed by smooth sandstone.  Behind him stretched a steep set of stairs carved into the rock face, and they stretched up into the clouds.

            "I am not completely sure what is going on with you two," Nylan said, taking Elia's elbow and wrenching her from the water, "but I am sure that it has to stop."

            Elia shivered in the chilly night air.  She followed the older man up the incline to where Xua was tying the boat up.  She glanced up at the endless steps and began to dread the impending journey up them.  Elia considered asking if they were really to climb them all tonight, but thoughts of Xua chiding her for it kept her lips sealed.

            "Xua, when is that last time you prayed here?" Nylan asked as he began to stroll even farther up the manmade incline, farther from the water.

            "I believe it was when you were missing, brother; Wonara and I came together."

            "Ah, I remember," Nylan practically whispered, a smile gracing his lips.  "This is were she and I were reunited after I came back."

            "She prayed here often during those times.  Often she would be gone for several months.  We used to joke—and jokes were so uncommon—that she had really come to become a priestess and would live here forever."

            Nylan chuckled.  "I am glad she did not, for then I would be lacking a wife."

            Nylan was grinning, and it made Elia smile as well.  She simply could not help it.  It reminded her of the days when her whole family was together, and one would start laughing and soon all four were laughing for no reason.

            "Elia, child, why are you crying?"

            Elia shook her head.  "I'm not crying—" she began to say, but then she felt the wetness slide down her nose.  She furiously wiped at her eyes.  "I-I…  I do not know why, but I cannot seem to stop…"

            "Perhaps it is the cold," Nylan said, when he obviously knew that wasn't the reason.  He turned his back to the girl and pressed his hand against the rock.  He leaned his head against it as well and murmured something.

            "We'd better start climbing.  I hope they will take us in for the night," Xua said, putting his foot on the bottom step.

            Elia sighed to herself and started up after him.  It was only a short while before she grew tired of it, as she had known she would.  Her legs had first been cramped into the back of that boat, and now they were being unwillingly lifted up and up steep stone steps.

            But she soon forgot her own troubles.

            Behind her, Nylan was breathing very heavily.  Elia looked back to see him practically doubled over, his hands grasping one knee.

            "Nylan, are you all right?" Elia asked, carefully coming down the dozen steps that separated them.

            "Brother!"  Xua hurried down too.

            "I am all right," Nylan told them in a voice that was quite contradictory to that.  "I just think I might be getting arthritis in my knee…here…"

            "Damn," Xua muttered.  "I left my healing herbs in the saddlebags.  I was foolish not to carry them on my person."

            Nylan gently let himself down so that he was sitting on the step.  "Shall we rest a while?  I'll be ready to go in a minute."

            "Nylan, perhaps Xua should go get help from the temple; I shall wait with you," Elia suggested.  She stood perfectly still, waiting for her idea to be shot down.  But it wasn't.

            "Yes.  I will go right away."  Xua raced back up a few steps.

            "Wait, Xua!" Nylan called out with a bit of difficulty.

            Xua stopped in his tracks and looked back over his shoulder.  "Yes, brother?"

            "There is no use in running.  You know how much climbing lies ahead of you, so pace yourself," Nylan breathed heavily.

            Xua nodded and renewed his journey, a bit more slowly but only by a fraction.

            "He's going to wear himself out in ten minutes," Nylan sighed, letting his body slip to the side and rely on the rock beside him.

            "Nylan, is there anything I can do?"

            "Not that I can think of, child.  But thank you."

            Elia sighed.  "Wonara told me to take care of you, but it seems that I am failing."

            Nylan smiled gently.  "It is simply nice to know you care," he said to assure her.  "Wonara…  I hope she is not worrying for me too much."

            "I am sure that she is."  Elia leaned forward and put her chin on her hands, her elbows on her knees.  Right in front of them, over the rocky bluffs, the big, bright disc of the moon was coming up.

            "Perhaps an old man like myself needs looking after by women," mused Nylan.

            "Old man?"

            "Of course, child.  I am approaching my forty-fifth year as we speak."

            Elia gasped.

            "Is it so surprising?"

            "I just thought that you were…  a lot younger.  About Link's age."

            "Impossible!"  Nylan chuckled and leaned back his head for a nice long laugh.  "Ah, you are such a charming companion, Miss Elia."

            Elia just gave him a puzzled look.  She had no notion of what was so terribly hilarious.

            Nylan stopped laughing after a while.  "Forgive me.  But it is so refreshing to have such young and innocent company."

            Elia buried her face in her hands.  "After five years I still have yet to grow up," she mumbled to herself.  "I shall never find him."

            "Well, then.  You shan't…not if you give up now," Nylan told her, beginning to gently massage his hurting knee.  "Besides, I do not see what is so wrong with being young and innocent.  Once you are grown, you are grown forever.  You cannot go back."

            "But Link is already grown.  I love him, but even when I was with him there was a barrier between us.  Like I was at the bottom of these stairs," she analogized, gesturing towards the bottom and then the top, "and he was passing the top.  I cannot close that gap.  I can chase after him all I like but…"

            "You know," Nylan said softly, "age gaps _do_ close up.  As you get older, they become less and less important.  For instance, when I first met Wonara, she was six years old and I was ten."  He laughed, recalling something.  "At that time our Tribes were camped side by side.  She would follow me wherever I went—hunting, ice fishing, playing, working—she was there.  My friends teased me for it and I was very angry with her.  I thought she was just an annoying brat.

            "Just before the everyone split up for the summer, I went and yelled at her for all the embarrassment she had caused me.  She cried and ran into the woods and no one could find her.  My family made me leave before they found her and I felt guilty for two years until I saw her again.  At that time, I apologized to her and I gave her a green ribbon as a symbol of friendship.  I thought, in the foolish shortsightedness of my youth, that the future was bright for the two of us.

            "In the spring of the next year, there was a fierce argument between the Leaders of the Fifth and Fourth Tribes.  They vowed that no Fifths would ever mix with the Fourths.  Wonara, as the daughter of her Leader, was put in a very difficult position.  She gave me back my ribbon.  I was disgusted that she would return my gift of friendship.  I said I never wanted to see her again.  It was déjà vu; she ran off and I could not pursue.

            "Several months later, the latest age of wars began.  Because I was in league to become the Leader of the Fifth Tribe, I was sent on a journey to Hyrule.  I was almost fourteen.  I was scared; I did not know what lay ahead for me.  I bid farewell to my father and my mother, who was then carrying Xua in her womb."  He paused for the first time in a long while.

            "What is it, Nylan?  Is your knee hurting more?" Elia asked, inching a bit closer to him.

            "No, no," he replied, shaking his head.  In the moonlight, the girl could see that his eyes were a bit misty.  "It is just that…that that was the last time I saw either of my parents.  My mother died in childbirth and my father in battle."  He shook his head.  "It is funny, is it not?  How you experience emotions again and again every time you revisit such memories?  Even though that happened thirty years ago…"

            "No…it is not unusual.  Memories are such powerful things.  Without them, we would not be us.  We would be mindless drones without souls."  She nearly jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

              "No, child," Nylan said, shaking his head.  "You are sounding too old again.  I much prefer the innocent, naïve you."

            Elia blushed.  "Forgive me."

            "Did I not say a hundred times?  There is no—"

            "No time for apologies, yes I know."  Elia looked to see that the moon had climbed up past the cliffs and was now a fully visible, perfect disc of pure white.  "Hm, would you mind going on with your story now?"

            "I do not mind," Nylan said, rolling his shoulders a little to keep them free of cramping.  "Now where was I?"

            "You were leaving to go to Hyrule."

            "Ah, yes; thank you.  Let's see.  I left the Fifth Tribe and began the walk to Hyrule—yes, _walk_.  At that time, horses were scarce because they were being used in battle.  It was basically blasphemy to use a decent animal for anything but the defending of your people.

            "So on my journey on foot to Hyrule, I found the camp of the Fourth Tribe.  All the men were gone, fighting, as it was in most villages.  And so I waited until Wonara was alone picking herbs.  She was already turning into a pretty little thing, but she was very sad.  I'm afraid I scared her the way I jumped out of the bushes," he chuckled, then became more somber.  "Wonara talked for a long time to me about her worries.  She said that her father had been injured but he was fighting anyway, and that her older brothers had all been killed so that her mother was desperate to get pregnant again with another son.  She was upset that she could not do anything to help.

            "I felt bad telling her that the only reason I had come was to say goodbye.  She…she started crying again.  I told her I did not want to leave it the same way I had twice before.  But she could not stop the tears, so I held her.  She asked me not to go and was mad when I said I could not.  I felt so bad, though, that I made my first and most important promise to her.  I gave her back the ribbon (for I had kept it with me all this time), and said…now what was it?"

            Elia had edged close to him, eagerly listening.  But when he had paused, she had time to feel how cold she was.  Most of her body had been soaked in the river water and now a cool wind was howling up and down the steps, freezing her.  She bit her lip so her teeth wouldn't chatter; surely Nylan was cold too.

            "Oh, yes, I remember.  I said to her…  'I can't be here with you now, but when I come back I'll be with you forever and ever.  When that happens, I'll never make you cry again ever.'  I believe those were my words."

            "How terribly romantic!" Elia exclaimed.

            Nylan chuckled.  "Yes, and it was from a thirteen year old to a ten year old, too; remember that."

            "So what happened after that?"

            "She agreed to my promise and kept my ribbon.  I went to Hyrule and thought about her always…  Even though a lot of events happened in the ten years we were separated, I came back and found a beautiful young woman patiently waiting for me.  In fact, I'd say that we were reunited right about here."  He smiled to himself, gazing at images from his memories that Elia couldn't see.  "She had heard I was coming and was on her way down.  I had just started running up, wondering if she would be here…"

            "Oh, Nylan," Elia said dreamily, "that is such a wonderful story.  I hope it is even half as beautiful when I see Link again."

            "I am sure it will be, child," Nylan murmured sleepily.  He yawned.

            Elia yawned herself and stretched.  She leaned back a little.  When her eyes were about to close, an orange orb appeared before them.  "A…A nightfly?"

            "Nightfly, eh?"  Nylan asked, lazily looking over with half-closed eyes.  "That's what most people around her call them, but look."  He sat up and put out his hand, right in the nightfly's path.  It flew right through.

            Elia gasped.

            "You try it," the man suggested, gently pulling Elia's hand from her lap.  The thing flew through her hand just as it had Nylan's.

            "It feels…cold?  But I don't get it."

            "What people call 'nightflies' are, in reality, spirits.  Perhaps you have heard of the Kokiri Forest of Hyrule and the Lost Woods.  They are mostly green over there, because they are forest spirits; the source of magic is the forest.  However, in Diola magic is much more common and, consequently, so are spirits.  They are everywhere, but the only time to see them is when the sun sets.  That is when their world crosses over with ours."

            "You mean…they are not really here?"

            "Nope; they are in the spirit realm.  Strange, isn't it?  But every night without fail the magic of this world pulls them over, if only partially."  Nylan gave a great big yawn that really reminded Elia of her father.  "They are orange here because of the sacredness of this Canyon.  Otherwise they are purple.  No one really knows why."

            Elia nodded.  She settled back into a comfortable position (as comfortable as she could get on steep stone stairs, anyway) and began to gently play with the spirit, her hand moving around it.  "Nylan, does it sense my presence at all?"

            "I think they can on some level, even if only their projections exist here.  But really, no one can be sure."

            "Maybe they come over here because they are lonely," Elia mumbled, letting her eyelids droop a little more.  "You have to feel sorry for them if indeed they cannot detect us.  Like maybe they are searching for us living creatures and can never find us or something."

            "Or maybe they are just teasing you, Elia.  I'm telling you, you can't really know."  He placed his head on a makeshift pillow made of bunched up cloak.  

            "It seems everyone teases me," Elia mumbled as she made a cushion the same way.  She gazed at the moon, wondering about everything that was to come.

            Elia was pulled from her dreamy state some time later.  It was a rather rude awakening, too; she was being hoisted up several feet to sit on a rocky shoulder.

            "What?" she screeched as she was firmly planted beside a bare, oval head.  The woman looked over to see that Nylan had been put on the other shoulder.  He looked equally confused.

            "Are you two ready?" said the mysterious bearer in a voice that sounded like the rumbling of a volcano.

            Xua, from down below, was looking anxiously on.  "Be careful with my brother's knee, Mr. Link."

            Elia's eyes widened.  "D-Did you say what I-I thought you said?"

            "I think he did," said the Goron.  "I am Link.  From Hyrule."

            Elia about passed out.

            The Goron began hopping up the steps, taking them two or three at a time.  He was very limber for a Goron, who were usually big and unwieldy.  This man, however, was tall and lanky.

            "Wait up a minute, would you?" breathed Xua from several stairs down.

            "Of course!" said 'Link', who hopped back down, plucked the man up, and began to go even faster with all three of them.

            Elia put her arm around the massive head and buried her face in it.  With every jump she prepared herself to fall off, but somehow, between her holding on to the Goron and the Goron's arm being wrapped about her waist, she was able to stay safe.

            After what seemed like an eternity of danger, they emerged through the clouds.  Elia had to look up and see the beauty that lay before them.  Some sort of large metal and wood pagoda lay before them.  The early rays coming up from the sun rise hit the structure and seemed to make it glow with all different kinds of magic.

            To either side of the thing, there were waterfalls thundering into it, the water running beneath the building.  Men and women, ghostly figures, were wandering around, cloaked in priest robes of varying colors.  Some carried shimmering pots, others were busy polishing beautifully carved statues of the Gods.

            Elia was so busy looking all over that she didn't realize that she had been set down on the ground once again until she fell over.

            "Miss?" said the Goron in his big, thundering tone.

            Elia shook her head.  She looked up to see the rock giant looking over her with concern.  She couldn't help but make a strange face.  This couldn't be Link, could it?  It made her queasy to just _consider_ the idea.

            But this 'Link', whether he be the real one or not, was very gentlemanly.  He reached down a big hand and helped her stand.

            "I'm just a little dizzy," Elia admitted, holding her head.

            "The air is thinner up here," said Nylan knowingly.  He took a few painful steps forward.  "The Sacred Temple.  It seems to become more beautiful every time I come."

            "What…do we do now…?"  Elia began to wobble a bit.  She felt so lightheaded!  What was the matter with her?

            "I think that you need some food," the Goron said, taking the liberty to lean Elia against him.  He smiled nervously down at her, and then blushed and looked away.

            Elia felt guilty.  Whoever he was, this was a nice man who was just trying to help.  And what if he _was_ the real Link?  

            A woman approached them.  It was hard to tell what she looked like; a white priestess robe covered most of her body.  However, she lifted her head and a tanned face greeted them.

            "This is strange," muttered Xua under his breath.  "First a Goron and now a Gerudo?  Why?"

            Elia looked over at him.  So this was a Gerudo?  She had yet to see one, even though she was in Hyrule.  They were pretty secretive.  She had heard that their leaders visited the castle occasionally, but they would never waste their time coming to Kakariko.

            "Link," said the woman, addressing the Goron.  She took off her hood to reveal a mane of shimmering red-orange.  "We're taking them to eat in the guest hall."

            "Sure," said the Goron.  He offered his arm to Elia (who was far, far below him).

            Elia smiled nervously and took it, wobbling after.  Eating sounded very appetizing right about now.  She had not had a bite since over a day ago when Wonara had forced a few spoonfuls of porridge down the girl's unwilling throat.

            They were taken down a cobblestone walkway to a smaller building that came off the main pagoda.  It was just two stories tall; probably a fourth the size of the big edifice to its immediate right.  Elia recognized statues of Din, Farore, and Nayru they passed.  They were in a half circle, holding up their hands and looking straight at something between them.

            The Gerudo woman smiled.  She stopped before the party and pointed to the Goddess statues.  "It is just about time.  Look."

            The sun was peeking over the horizon.  The golden rays seemed to shoot straight at the statues.  Soon a burst of unimaginably bright white light exploded between the hands of the Goddesses.  When the burst was gone, a gold triangle divided up into three smaller triangles was spinning in its place.

            Another second and it was gone.

            "Let us continue," said the Gerudo, smiling to herself at Elia's amazement.  She spun gracefully about and continued walking.

            Elia looked up at the Goron man.  "What was that?"

            "Magic," he replied with a grin.  "Shall we go?"

            Elia complied, but her eyes wandered back to the statues.  Now they looked no different than they had before, except that the sun was lightning them up.  They were each tinged a different color: Din red, Farore green, and Nayru blue.  

            They entered the small building and were seated at one of several round tables.  The Goron sat next to Elia, but he could not sit in a chair.  Instead, he got on his knees and leaned back to sit on his feet.

            "Are you comfortable like that?" Elia asked him quietly.

            "I'm used to it," he replied, flashing her another grin.

            Trays of steaming food and drinks were brought in by servants, who were dressed merely in simple black tunics and leggings. Elia shifted her weight on the small wooden stool and leaned forward eagerly.  It smelled delicious.

            While the food was being distributed, Link started talking to Elia.  "Do you want me to show you around the Temple after eating?"

            Nylan broke in.  "If it is not too much trouble, I think Elia requires a warm bath and a change of clothes before that."  He looked over at the Gerudo.

            "Surely," said the woman, began to pour some sort of spicy tea into mugs.  She raised the glass and said, "May we all be blessed."

            Elia followed suit along with the others.  She wondered if everything here was like that.  It made her feel embarrassed that she was never so pious at home.  Here, the Gods were so important to everyone.  There were entire Tribes of people to serve each God.

            Once Nylan began to eat, Elia took up a metal spoon and tasted the food.  It seemed to be like a light stew made from foreign herbs.  She thought she could detect a kind of late-blooming berry that grew in the upper parts of Kakariko, though.

            Her eyes widened.

            "What's the matter, Elia?" Nylan asked, looking up from his half-consumed bowl at the girl.

            "I…I…"  She paused and shook her head.  "It is nothing.  Only…  I know I have had this dish before."  Dain had made it more than once.  Elia could recall it clearly now.  Dain…  She giggled to cover up her uncertainty.  "Aren't I silly?"

            "And you are from Hyrule?" said the Gerudo woman.  "I think I never had it before coming here a few weeks ago.  Perhaps a traveler brought the recipe."

            Xua changed the subject.  "You only came a few weeks ago, ma'am?"

            "_Ma'am_?" she repeated.  She glared indignantly down her Gerudo nose.  The woman sighed.  "And I thought I would get to keep my youth forever."

            "You have a kind of mature beauty, though," Nylan said playfully before slurping up the last bit of his meal.  "Miss…?"

            "Nabooru," the woman said.  "Just call me Nabooru."

^-^-^-^


	10. Insights and Questions

^-^-^-^

            After breakfast, Nabooru took Elia to where the priestesses bathed.  Elia was given a plain white dress and a priestess robe to wear.

            "Is it all right?" Elia asked.  "I mean, I am not a priestess."

            "These are the only clothes they have," Nabooru explained, gesturing at her own garb.  "Besides, the true priestesses have patterns on their robes.  These are just plain."

            Elia looked around at the other women who were dressing and, indeed, each one wore a robe embroidered with some symbol on the back, and some had simple patterns circling the arms or the hood.

            "N—Miss Nabooru," Elia began.  "Are you really one of the Sages?"

            "There is no other Nabooru," said the Gerudo woman proudly.  She smiled a bit, wickedly so.  "Leader of the Gerudos and Sage of Spirit—that's me."

            "Th-Then…do you know about…Link?"

            "Link?  Weren't you just talking to him?" Nabooru asked, leading her out of the pagoda.

            Elia's heart fell as many stories as the pagoda was tall.  "So Link…he was changed into a Goron?"

            "What?"  Nabooru turned around and saw the depressed expression on Elia's face.  "Oh!  You think—Hero—a Goron—hahaha!"  She doubled over with heavy laughter.  

            Elia blushed heavily.  "Um…so…that's not the real Link?"

            "He is a 'Link', yes, but I doubt the one you're thinking of—oh, hahahaha!"  Nabooru covered up her mouth but she could not contain her laughter.  "No wonder you looked so strangely at him—ha!"

            "Well then, who is _that_ Link?" Elia asked, feeling completely and totally thoroughly humiliated.

            "He is my son, of course."

            The voice that had spoken was even louder, deeper, and more menacing than the Goron Link's.  Elia spun to see a shorter, fatter, older-looking Goron man.

            "Ah, Darunia.  You might be amused to know that this girl thought your son was the Hero of Time," Nabooru said, her evil grin overtaking her sly, Gerudo face.

            "You did?  Really?" asked Darunia.  He gave a big belly laugh.  "Not unless something very, very strange happened!  Heheheh!  But I'm flattered, though, really."

            Elia could only wear a puzzled expression.

            Darunia waddled over and gave Elia a healthy—well, more than healthy, actually—pat on the back.  She about fell crashing onto the cobblestones beneath her.  Darunia finally slowed down his laughter.  "Ah, kid, thanks for giving us two old Sages a healthy laugh.  My son the Hero of Time—ha!"  And he walked off in high spirits.

            "Speaking of him, here comes that lumbering fool now," Nabooru said, motioning with her head at the approaching figure.

            "Miss Elia, would you like to go on a tour now?" he asked, halting from his jog over to them.

            "We've only been here a few weeks; what can you show her?" muttered Nabooru as she walked away.

            "She didn't even say bye," observed Elia.  She strained her neck to look up at the Goron.  "Link, I have to apologize to you."

            "What?  Why?"  He scratched his head.

            Elia looked down at her feet.  "When I first heard that you were Link from Hyrule, I was worried—er…  I was…um…confused.  I wondered if you were the…um…the other Link."

            "The real one, you mean," the Goron said kind of quietly.

            Elia snapped her head up.  "That's not what I meant.  I mean…you are real too, are you not?"

            He shrugged and started walking slowly.  "I don't really know.  Everyone always refers to him as the 'real Link'.  So I guess that means I'm the fake one."  Link sighed.  "I guess that's why Dad laughed when he saw me.  He never smiles at me unless he's makin' fun."

            "Oh, that is _so_ awful!" exclaimed Elia.  She came over to the Goron, who was busily hanging his head, and touched his arm gently.  She would have patted his shoulder comfortingly, but it was too high.  The Goron had to be at least three feet taller than she was.

            He glanced down and smiled at her ever so weakly.  Then he started walking again towards one of the waterfalls, Elia following closely.  "I…I used to be proud of my name.  When I was seven, I met the real Link.  I always idolized him.  But…I got older and Dad began to tell me how stupid I was, how unlike the 'real Link'…  I used to cry and he would punish me so bad, and ever since then I've been the brunt of all Goron jokes.  And now everyone who knows Dad makes fun of me too.  

            "I used to feel blessed to have the name of the Hero of Time, but now it's much more like a curse.  And I used to love Link but now I kinda resent him."  The Goron paused in front of the water.

            Elia looked into the pool and gazed at her clear reflection in the water.  She met Link's gaze in the water.  "I really never thought of what it would be like to have a hero's name before.  Now, though, I see how horrible it must be."

            "It'd be real nice if Dad didn't compare my life to Link's.  Not everyone can be a famous, world-savin' hero."  He knelt down so he was closer to the water and leaned over it.  "When I see my reflection, I only see a failure."  He made a huge rock fist and smashed the mirror, sending icy splashes all about.  "I just…I just wish my name wasn't Link!"

            Elia clapped her hands together.  "Hey, what if it _wasn't_ Link?"

            He looked up at her.  "What do you mean?"

            The young woman crouched down and looked into his eyes with her own big brown ones.  "If you were not called Link, then you could just be yourself, right?  And the only image you would have to live up to would be your own?"

            "But…but I've been Link for twenty-one years…"

            "So it is about time for a change, right?" Elia said, smiling in an almost sly way.

            He nodded slowly.  "So I change my name.  But to what?"

            "Whatever you want."

            The man paused thoughtfully for a long time.  He looked at her helplessly.  "I can't think of anythin'.  Please, Miss Elia, you choose something."

            Elia blushed.  "I can't make such an important decision—"

            "_Please_.  I want you to."

            Elia thought long and hard.  "I can't think of any," she said quietly.  "But this is an important decision.  Can I have a while to think about it?"

            He nodded eagerly.  "Oh, Miss Elia, I'm so excited!"

            Elia was then crushed in a good old-fashioned 'Goron Hug'.

            That evening, Elia was invited to eat with Nylan, Xua, and some others in the main hall. It was on the top floor of the pagoda, where a gentle breeze rustled the translucent curtains that walled them in.  Right before the food was served, two male servants walked in and opened the curtains facing west.

            "To see the sun set from above the clouds is most spectacular," Xua observed.  "The last time I came here I was just a little boy, far too young to dine up here."

            "Ah, and now you are a cherished guest," said an older woman who, as Elia had been informed, was the head priestess of the Temple.  "Sir Xua, though…I seem to recall when you came prior to this."  She gazed intently at the young man through sharp eyes set in a withered face.  "Those eyes that seem to glow…  I really must request a private council with you immediately after eating."

            Xua bowed his head respectfully.  "Of course."

            Elia really wondered what was going on.  Xua had lost his cool confidence all together, it seemed; ever since his outburst on the boat he was a different man.  Elia turned her attention to the food that was being served.  A plate piled high with red vegetables and grilled meat was her meal, and she ate it eagerly.  

            Elia gazed at the red.  Red…red…  Fiery…  Fiery—that was it!  She stood up.  "Aden, Aden!" she cried.

            All of the people at the table turned and stared.  Elia looked around to see the faces of Nylan, Xua, Darunia, Nabooru, the head priestess, the priests—everyone staring at her.  Even the servants, standing off to the side, did.

            Elia didn't care.

            "Sir Darunia, where is Ad—I mean, your son?"

            "That fool?  Eating with the priests I guess," Darunia said.

            Elia nodded.  She ran for the door.  The girl stopped, remembering, and gave a hasty curtsey.  "Um, excuse me!"

            The flights of stairs down the pagoda were only an obstacle of a few moments; Elia flew down them like she wasn't stepping at all.  She burst outside into the cold night.

            She froze.

            Everything was lit up by the beautiful silvery moonlight.  The waterfalls sparkled, reflecting the images of the huge statues in their diamond-like water.  And the statues themselves, bathed in moonlight, appeared more like ghosts than beings carved of stone.

            She slowly was released from her numbness when she realized how cold her leg was.  She glanced down to see that it was wet; somehow icy water from the nearby pool had been splashed to her skirt.  Elia shivered and started, a bit more slowly and humbled than before for the doorway of the smallest building.

            Elia burst in on the main dining hall, interrupting the hum of everyone's conversations.  She felt her pale face turn from white to red.  Her big brown eyes were projected downward as the young woman shuffled, embarrassed, across the floor.

            At last she met up with her target.  The Goron had been watching her since she entered the room.  He looked up at her nervously, even though as he sat on a stool he was about equal with her.

            "I thought of the perfect name," breathed Elia to him quietly, getting a bit more excited once again.

            "Oh, Miss Elia, you did?" he asked, leaning so hard toward her that his scooter fell over.  He fell, crashing into the floor.

            "Oh no!" Elia cried, bending down to help him.

            He bounced back up, looking around embarrassedly.  "I'm fine," he said.  "There are lotsa advantages to bein' made of rock," the man explained, scratching his back and blushing down at her.

            She nodded slowly.  "Well, I was thinking…"  Her eyes happened to wander to some others in the room, some young priestesses.  They were watching.  Elia looked around a bit more.  Everyone else was watching.

            Elia took the Goron's hand and dragged him to the nearest exit.  She bowed on her way out as she had done before, then slid the door shut.

            "Miss Elia?"

            "I can't say anything with everyone watching like that," Elia said to her shoes.  

            "It's all right.  But Miss Elia, _tell me_."

            Elia nodded.  "I…I…  I don't know if you'll like it, but…  I mean, since you're a Goron and all, and Gorons live in volcanoes, which are, you know, fiery…"

            "Please, Miss Elia."

            "Aden."

            "Aden, hmm?"

            Elia gulped and looked up.  Did he like it?

            The tall man looked thoughtful for many moments.  Then he opened his mouth into a wide grin and laughed.  "Aden, Aden—I love it!"  The Goron reached down and took her hands and danced back and forth with her.

            Elia laughed and tried to keep up with his happy swaggering.  "I—am—glad," she got in between jumps, "that—you—do—like—whoa!  She tumbled to the ground, but got back up, nearly crying from all the laughter.

            They danced again for a long time before heading towards the stairs that led to the world below.  Elia sat down on a ledge and let her legs dangle over the edge playfully.  Aden sat down next to her.

            "This is so wonderful," Elia murmured.  She peered down a little.  "My feet are actually touching the clouds!"

            "And mine are through the clouds," remarked Aden with a wink.

            Elia pulled her plain priestess robe a bit tighter around her shoulders as a breeze blew over them.  The cold, however, was a minor discomfort.  The moon was even a little higher now, and it's pure beams of light lit up beautiful landscapes before them, both real and illusionary.

            "Aden, how long have you been staying here?"

            "Not very long.  We left from Hyrule about…"  He thought a bit.  "A month ago.  So we've been here two and a half weeks, I guess."

            "I wish I could stay as long.  But I heard Xua and Nylan talking about leaving tomorrow morning."  Elia sighed.  "I would love to stay longer.  If I did not have other plans, I think I might very much love to stay here forever—become a priestess."

            "You would make a charmin' priestess," Aden said softly.  However, this was quickly followed by a sigh.  "I would like to be a priest.  The beauty of the place alone is enough reason, but I also want to learn more about the Gods.  In Hyrule, people aren't very religious."

            Elia shrugged, leaning back on her hands.  "People all worship in their own way.  But I agree, the land of six Gods seems more intriguing than three Goddesses—however wondrous the Goddesses are."  She looked up at the sky.  "I hope I shall be forgiven."

            "Ach, I don't see why people are worried about what the Gods here.  Were we just given the ability to think for ourselves and meant to ignore it?  I don't think we'd learn much by just repeatin' old texts and whatnot.  If you want to worship somethin', then why do it just because someone else told you to?"

            Elia smiled.  "Aden, I think your new name has given you a lot of insight already!"

            He scratched his head.  "Nah; I was just ramblin', Miss Elia."

            "And enough with this 'Miss'—I think Elia is a find name by its lonesome."

            "It's a very pretty name," he agreed.  "But I can't, I just can't…  _Miss_ Elia, you're the only person I can remember ever be kind to me.  I can't talk to you like we're equals."

            "But of course we're equals!"

            "We're…we're not.  You're smart, pretty, and sophisticated—I'm stupid, ugly and barbaric.  I can't…  I just can't..."

            Elia sighed.  "I think those are completely untrue, Aden.  You are a perfectly wonderful person!  Perhaps we are different, but no two people are alike, you know—that's what makes the world so wonderful."  She put her hand on his and looked up at him thoughtfully.  "You are given what you are given, and you cannot change that.  Everyone, though, is in the same situation.  You do not have to be resentful about this—you can be pleased with what you have and work with it."

            He was quiet for a long time, but eventually he looked like he agreed with her.  "Miss Elia, I will think about what you have said.  But I would just prefer to call you so, for you are a lady."

            "All right, then," Elia finally agreed.

            The Goron swung his legs a little bit, kind of like a child.  "Anyways, what I was saying was that I would _like_ to be a priest.  But I can't.  Even though my father hates me, I'm his only heir.  I'll have to be 'Big Brother'."

            "Is that what you want?"

            "Of course not!  Everythin' would fall apart, then!"  He gasped.  "No, no…  I can't say this; it's disrespectful.  I…  I should be happy that I was born into such a important role."

            "But it is not what you want," observed the young woman.  "If you want to be a priest, then stay here and be a priest.  But if you want to be locked into doing something you don't want, then, by all means—let life run you over."

            Aden nervously adjusted the deep gray priest's robe he wore.  "I wish it was as simple as that," he said quietly.  "If it were, I would just be a priest then!"  

            "Well, why is it not that simple?" she asked.

            "Miss Elia, it's awful complicated.  Sometimes I think I would really like to be a leader of my people, if only I could do it.  But things would be just _awful_ if I was to become Big Brother.  Everyone from the Elders to the little kids make fun of me and don't think anythin' of me.  There would be a mutiny!"

            "Oh, I am not sure.  Have you not already changed, Aden?"  She smiled.  "And if you can do this much changing in less than an hour, perhaps you can become a fabulous 'Big Brother' in years to come."

            "You make everythin' seem so easy," Aden told her.  "Hmm."  He looked over the clouds to some mountains far ahead.  "I heard from the people here that in order to become a priest or priestess, you train for a long time and then take this trial, like makin' it to the top of one of those mountains."  He gestured with a big rocky hand.  "I wish that I had done somethin' great like that.

            "Dad's done a lot of stuff.  He fought as a brave warrior in the battles against Ganondorf—the earliest when he was just like sixteen.  And he helped the Gorons through a time of starvation a bit before I was born…  He fought against Ganondorf again and the evil dragon Volvagia when all the Gorons were imprisoned.  That's actually when I first met Link."

            "Link," sighed Elia quietly, resting her face on her hands.  Where was he now?  _I'm coming_, Elia thought, _I'm coming_.

            "So you know Link?"

            Elia, had she not been so somber, would have laughed out loud, but instead she cracked a weak smile.  "You could say that."

            Aden made a face.  "Well, how was I supposed to know?  Anyway, how do you know him?"

            Elia blushed.

            "So…it's like that, huh?"

            She blushed again.  "I…have not seen him for a long time.  But I am searching for him."

            Aden frowned slightly and looked over the clouds.  "So _that's_ why you're here."

            She nodded, puzzled over his change in attitude.  "What did you think I was doing here?"

            He shrugged.  "I thought you were just payin' a visit to the Temple or somethin'."  Aden sighed.  "That's just how stupid I am," he muttered under his breath.

            "You are _not_ stupid.  How could you have known?  It is not as if anyone has mentioned it."  Elia bent over to try and look in his face.  He looked away.  Still confused, the young woman returned her attention to the beautiful, wispy landscapes straight ahead.  "Anyway, I am very glad Nylan had us stop here.  The view is simply too beautiful!"

            "Uh-huh."

            "And I'm also glad that I found you here."

            This got him to look up.  "What do you mean?"

            "Because you are a new friend!"  She smiled brightly.  "Back home I lived alone…  I had only one friend, and even her I fought with before leaving.  I was sure that everything that lay ahead would be quite lonely, but I was wrong.  I have found plenty of new friends here."  She fingered the silver choker around her neck.  "Nylan, Wonara, Mvon, the twins…  Hmm, I don't know what to say about Xua."  She crossed her arms.

            "Xua…is that the younger one?"

            "Yes.  Why?"

            Aden thought for a moment.  "I heard some of the older priests talkin' with the head priestess about him.  One said something about how he was 'imperative'.  I wasn't sure what they meant exactly.  But the head priestess said she would meet with him tonight."

            Elia's eyes widened a bit.  "Tonight at dinner, she said she wanted a 'private council' or some such thing."  Could there be any connection between this and Xua's hesitation to come?  She shook her head.  Even if there were, perhaps nothing bad would come of it.

            The Goron lowered his voice substantially and whispered, "Miss Elia, if you're that curious, I know where she holds her private councils."

            Elia immediately dismissed the idea.  "Spy on them?"  She shook her head fervently.  "For one thing, it is morally wrong.  And, for another, practically impossible.  The feeling I get from Xua is that he always knows what is going on; he could tell if I was spying.  I imagine the head priestess is also that way."

            Aden nodded.  "It was a stupid idea.  Forgive me, Miss Elia."

            "Stupid?  No.  I actually would like to hear what they are saying, but I do not want to be known a spy."  She winked.  "I know Xua will never tell me anything."

            "So…you and Xua do not get along?"

            Elia stared straight ahead and said firmly, "He hurt my dear friend's heart.  I cannot forgive such a man."

            "He doesn't strike me as the kind of guy that is unaware of others' feelin's and stuff.  Besides, people have reasons for the stuff they do, even if it seems real insensitive at the time."

            "I do not care whatever reasons he has.  He _used_ Mvon.  As a girl, I understand how awful that would be for her.  When you are in love, it is unbearable to think that your feelings are being abused for some man's personal gain."  She crossed her arms and gritted her teeth.

            "Well, maybe you're right.  I sure don't know."

            "'Don't know'?" she repeated.  "How can you _not_?  It is wrong to hurt someone, plain and simple."

            "Miss Elia, I beg your pardon, but people hurt other people's feelin's all the time without even noticin'."

            Elia couldn't think of anything to say to that.

            "Besides, what good is just resentin' somebody for forever and ever without knowin' their intentions?  It just adds a lot of unnecessary hate and everythin' to the world, if you ask me."

            "You are very insightful, Aden," Elia murmured.

            He scratched his head.  "Aw, really?  I don't think so."

^-^-^-^


	11. On Her Own

^-^-^-^

            Elia lay awake in bed, unable to sleep.

            She looked around, examining the interior of the female guest quarters.  There were about ten beds in the room, all constructed of wood.  Hay stuffed the mattresses while hand sewn quilts were perfectly folded on top of each.  The room itself was carved into the cliff side, much like the way Elia's house had been built.  Elia had discovered that there was an entire network of rooms and passageways in the rock.  Most of the food and goods were stored in huge rooms with ceilings as high as the roof of the pagoda just outside.  There were big rooms like this one farthest in, in which the servants, guests, and lower-ranking priests and priestesses slept.

            It had been explained to Elia that during the summertime, the guest rooms were full of pilgrims who journeyed to worship at the Temple, and even some tourists.  However, because of the "current situation" (Elia wasn't quite sure what that meant), and, also, the onset of winter, travelers were scarce.  

            Elia wanted to sleep, but she couldn't seem to stop thinking.  Mvon…Aden…Dune…  It seemed everyone else had such big problems.  Were hers small in comparison?  Yes, definitely.  She was simply heartsick.  Mvon had been hurt and used.  Aden doubted himself so much.  And Dune, why his life was in danger!

            And she was just heartsick.

            Elia moaned and flipped over in bed.  Link, Link…  Where was he now?  Was he all right?  She clutched her hand to her breast, her other hand over the ring.  The sign of their promise close to her heart.

            "I miss you," she murmured into the pillow.  She closed her eyes.  She tried to imagine him saying the same to her.

            She couldn't.

            Elia jerked up into a sitting position.  She couldn't…she couldn't remember his voice?  No, _no_.  She remembered everything about him!

            Didn't she?

            "No!" she cried, holding her head.  His hair, how it was slightly messy always…how it shone orange at sunset…  His clear blue eyes, his…his…  Why?  Why, why wasn't it coming back to her?  Had she forgotten?  How had she allowed herself to forget?  No, no!  This couldn't be.  

            Elia sprang out of bed and ran out the door.  She found herself in a darkened hallway.  It was silent.  

            What was she doing?  Was she running for help?  Why, when no one would be up at three in the morning?

            "I must be going mad," she said quietly to herself.  "I can't sleep, though…"  Ach, she was talking to herself now.  "Ah, well," Elia muttered, reaching her hand through the door and plucking up her cloak.  She pulled it over her shoulders and began sulking through the twisting corridors.

            It was only a short while before she found herself lost.

            Elia sighed.  Everything was dark.  All she could make out were ethereal outlines where the walls were.  Now, even if she had wanted to go back to bed, there was no way she could find her way to it.

            And so she kept wandering.  At first, the young woman sort of thought she was heading toward the storage rooms and the pagoda, but, after a lot of walking, she felt like she was just going further and further into the maze.

            As far as she knew, the tunnels stopped at a certain point.  They were dug into a mountain, after all, and it would be very tiring to dig through an entire mountain.

            Elia stopped passing doorways.  The tunnel she was traveling in narrowed.  Squinting just a little, the girl thought there was a bit of reddish light, just a tad, ahead.

            "I must be approaching the exit," she concluded, picking up the pace a bit.  Exploring was quite nice and all, but being lost for an hour and a half was a completely different matter.

            The patch of light grew and grew, but more slowly.  Elia was too tired to hurry any longer.  She breathed very heavily.  _I must have been going up.  The air here seems even thinner than before._

            There was a howl.  Elia almost screamed before realizing that it was simply the wind rushing through the cavern.  It was a fiercely cold wind, too.  _Perhaps I'm heading north now, and these are the northern winds bringing winter_.

            She felt so tired.  How long had she been walking, now?  _It must be nearly five in the morning_, Elia gathered, figuring her wandering time at two hours.  Not only that, but the lack of sleep was catching up with her.  The air was thin and cold, stinging her lungs.  Right about then she could have gone for some of Wonara's spicy tea to warm her insides.

            Should she turn around?  Slowly, she glanced over her shoulder.  All that lay down there was blackness.  Up ahead was an opening with red light—maybe a fire.  Elia took a big, deep breath and began walking.  Her small legs felt like they were made of stone, becoming heavier and heavier with each painful step.

            Finally, numbness overcame the young woman's exhausted body.  Her hand on the stone, she dragged herself unwillingly along.  An eternity passed, it seemed.

            And then she reached it.

            She reached the exit.  Elia rubbed her eyes and looked.  She had expected to see the pagoda, the statues, the waterfalls.  But she didn't see any of that.  Instead she saw that she was now standing on a very small ledge.  Down far, far below lay a magnificent, circular city.

            She collapsed.

            Elia woke up, very cold and very alarmed.

            It was snowing on her.  She blinked, looking about and pulling herself from the few inches of cold, white fluff that littered the ground.  Elia shook her cloak out and pulled up the hood, knotting the strings tightly.  She folded her arms and shivered for warmth.

            Winter had come, and while she was alone on a mountaintop.

            "Great," she said through chattering teeth.  Elia knew what lay ahead:  a long, cold trek through the cavern again.  She sighed and turned around, ready to begin.  What she hadn't realized was that she was standing on the edge of the ledge, and that the snow made if very slick.

            She fell.

            Elia screamed.  She screamed as best anyone who was currently in midair could scream before they hit a mountainside.  She said a final prayer for everyone, because, just below her, boulders and rutty old tree stumps were jutting out from the rough, sloped ground.  And, even had she survived the first touch with the earth, there were still the miles down to flat land.

            But then, something magical happened.

            She floated.

            Elia was surrounding by a perfect sphere of blue.  She was in the middle of this ball, which was gently rolling down the mountain.  Elia looked down at her ring, which was glowing.

            She pushed her flying brown waves out of the way to get a better look.  Yes, she was rolling down the mountainside!  She was floating while the ball turned, spun, and even bounced a little on its voyage down.

            Elia hugged herself.  Was this a dream?  No, no…  There was still the occasional bump here and there reminding the young woman that she was _alive_.

            It took several minutes, but the orb finally reached the flatter land, the foothills.  It faded away in a mere instant.

            Elia fell down the few feet onto a soft cushion of snow.  She reached down beneath the cover and touched the earth.  "I'm alive!" she declared, looking up the steep mountain.  She put her hand to her lips and kissed the ring.  _Thank you, Link.  Thank you!_  

            She couldn't move for a few moments.  However, after a bit, miracle or no, one gets a bit chilly when it's snowing right on him.  What should she do now?  Elia looked out the opposite direction of the mountain.  She was situated currently on the southern side of a large valley.  A mile or so away was a big city, the one she had seen from the ledge earlier.

            That was the place to go.  Shivering and hungry, the young woman started for the city.  With each step, she wished that she would never have to walk again.  She was sure her leg muscles would be twice as big as they were before she began this crazy adventure.  

            "I guess this teaches me not to be so curious," Elia said.  Actually, before all of this had happened, she had not been curious at all.  Well, she had been curious—just not courageous enough to go on that.  Each day she had gone to work, talked with Dain and the customers, and then gone home to do chores.  She visited the market every week.

            She had led a boring life for the past five years.  But, of course, it didn't seem so boring to her.  Elia always spent most of her time dreaming while she was performing the dull tasks of everyday life.  Mostly it was about Link, but sometimes she would imagine herself a heroine going on an adventure.

            Elia giggled.  "There's no need to imagine now," she said.  But things were scary too.  Things like the wolfos attacking, the bandits almost raping Mvon and herself, or the Second Tribesmen.  

            _Link, were your adventures like this too?_ she thought.  Always had the girl believed Link had had noble adventures.  But now she saw that, although good things could happen, there was peril and heartbreak too.  Intrigue and excitement were compensated by fear and loss.  

            Elia reached the outskirts of the city.  Closer to her were small huts, made of bricks with sloped straw roofs.  But towards the center she could make out turrets of a giant silver castle.  Where was she?

            The town was pretty sleepy now, but the sun was coming up over the eastern mountains.  The farmers were leaving their houses and coming out of the city, probably going for their barns.  

            Elia reached one man, stopping him.  "Um, excuse me, sir?"

            The man looked out at her from under his big wool hood.  "Y-Yes?"

            "Would you mind telling me where I am?"

            The man looked at her oddly.  He was a man with a rather different feeling about him.  He was fairly tall, probably around thirty-five or forty.  His hood overshadowed a rather alarmed face with long black hair and a small moustache of the same color.  His small, brown eyes darted about.

            "Excuse me, are you all right?" Elia asked, standing on her tiptoes to get a better look at his face.

            "I-I am fine!" he declared, backing away.  The stranger looked down his big nose at her suspiciously.  "What do you want?"  His voice, running thick with the native accent, was a bit high-pitched for a tall man, she thought.  Of course, it could just have been how agitated he was.

            "I already _told_ you, sir; I want to know where I am."  Elia, by this time, was soaking wet.  "Look, if you cannot tell me, then I would rather go find someone else than wait here and get even wetter!"  The young woman sighed.

            "F-Fine.  You are in Pwyre.  Will that suffice?"  He dusted some snow off of his thick, brown wool jacket.  

            Elia bowed.  "Thank you very much, sir."  She walked past him towards the city.

            "Wait, miss!" the man called after.

            "Yes?"  Elia spun around, feeling a bit irritated.  She was really ready for a nice hot meal at an inn.

            "Y-You are Hylian, correct?  The city might be dangerous for you."

            Elia ran back to where he was, almost tripping in the foot of snow.  "What do you mean?"

            He sighed.  "If you do not mind it, come to the city with me and I will help you."

            What, he was suddenly friendly?  Elia looked at him strangely.  "Pardon me, sir, but why should I trust you?"  Elia had been tricked before by men who had appeared friendly.  And if Link hadn't been there to save her…

            He nodded slowly.  "All right, so you lack a reason to trust me.  But I cannot _make_ you trust me."

            "Then I shall go by myself, sir," Elia announced.  "I would like to a snug bed and a warm meal, if you would permit me to do so."

            "Look, miss.  The people of Diola are weary of their Hylian cousins.  It has been that way for a long, long time."

            "I shall take that into account.  Thank you."

"And you have Diolan money?"

            That was right.  She hadn't a reason to use money in Diola before now.  True, she carried with her a small fortune, but it was probably worth nothing in a foreign city.

            Elia sighed.  "Then, kind sir, would you kindly tell me where I can exchange for Diolan currency?"

            "There are not many places for it.  I would have to take you there."

            What was she going to do?  She couldn't trust a strange man!  But…what was her alternative?  Ask potentially hostile people for help?  Elia looked down at her ring.  It had protected her so many times before.  Would it do it again in case of peril?

            Elia turned around and looked him straight in the eye.  She then directed her attention to the clasp of her velvety cloak, which she knew was a fine, expensive one.  In her clearest, most regal voice, she lied, "My guards will be arriving here shortly."

            "G-Guards?" he asked.

            Ha!  Perhaps he believed her.  Elia smiled her most princess-like smile.  "Yes, my bodyguards.  I ran ahead as they were killing a few bears, you know.  They will follow me here and find me soon.  So, I ask you, dear sir," she said, curtseying, "to please guide me to the money exchange until those two show up."

            He looked rather puzzled.  Elia could just imagine the thoughts running through his head, like 'What if this _is_ a noblewoman from Hyrule?' and 'I cannot touch her; those bear-killing guards will have my head!'

            "Right this way, miss," the man said, starting to walk ahead.

            Elia went a little behind him, grinning in the secrecy of her hood.  She had never lied like this before.  It was rather like acting.  It was rather fun.

            They entered the city.  Elia really got a hold of just how big it was now.  The two were traveling on just one small street, lined with houses that towered a few stories each (but they weren't very wide at all).  The street itself was cobblestone, just like it was about Hyrule Castle.  Not much snow reached the ground, but rather the wetness that dripped off the roofs that almost covered the street like a dome.  

            People were starting to emerge from their houses now.  The farmers had been out earlier, but now the servants were coming by with brooms to sweep the streets.  A carriage rolled gently past, led by a drowsy brown stallion.  Women started leaning out of their windows, shaking cloths in the air to freshen them up.  Still other townsmen were walking about the streets, gossiping and chattering.  

            Elia was led down this street for a rather long while.  The smells of breakfasts being prepared for families reached her nostrils.  How long had it been since she had eaten.  Too long, that was for sure.

            Elia always kept a few paces between her and the man she was following.  In her heart, she truly believed him to be a good soul.  But she could not simply trust a stranger.  It was too dangerous.  She still had so many things to do yet.  She still had to find Link.

            The street opened up to a huge—no, _enormous _was a more appropriate word to describe this market square.  It had to be at least a dozen times larger than the square in Hyrule Castle Town.  And every inch of it was packed with vendors and traders, each yelling to the early shoppers that his goods were the very best.

            Elia spotted a cart that bore fresh rolls.  "I cannot _wait_ until I get some money," she said to herself, instinctively clutching her stomach.  She imagined a great feast that lay just ahead.

            Even as they walked through the market, it filled with customers.  The place grew louder and louder with all the haggling.  Cloths, furs, tools, foods—all were being distributed from eager sellers to eager buyers.

            Elia, unable to retain her curiosity any longer, hurried up to her guide.  "Um, sir…  Do they not even mind the snow?"

            He stopped and looked down at her, waiting for a big wooden carriage to go past.  "Miss, the reason they _are_ buying up everything is because they know winter has arrived; they want to be prepared because the snow will just worsen."

            "Oh, no!" Elia exclaimed, but she quickly clamped her hand over her mouth.  If the snow just got worse, she would be trapped here in Pwyre.  Xua and Nylan could not come after her.  She quickly debated going after them, but she had no idea where Dune was, especially in relation to her own position.  They were to have left this morning.

            The carriage finished passing and her guide began walking through the crowd again.  Elia did not notice, however; she was too preoccupied with her own worries.  Xua…Nylan…Dune…everyone!  Oh, how foolish she had been to go out by herself!  _Please do not come after me, Nylan.  You have to find Dune and save him first.  I am fine, do not worry about me_, she prayed.

            "Miss?"

            Elia looked up.  Her guide had come back.

            "We are almost to the money exchanger; hurry along—er, please."

            Elia nodded and followed.  She noticed that the man she followed was not nearly as agitated any longer.  What did it mean?  She finally decided that it meant he was tired and distracted from all the walking and hurried to catch up.

            They came to a building that lay where to diagonal streets joined.  Elia noticed that all streets radiated outward from the market (either that or inwards _towards_ it).  The city was roughly shaped like a circle.

            Anyway, on the corner of this street was a bank.  Elia thought that this was the location, but she was wrong.  Her guide took her to the left and then around to a hidden staircase.

            The staircase creaked and shook with his weight.  But the man seemed not to care and plunged in.

            Elia gulped.  She took slow, careful steps down the rickety old steps.  The sound of the crowd grew fainter as she descended, her very own throbbing heartbeat the overwhelming noise at that point.  Her feet reached flat ground.  She looked to see a small doorway just ahead with a creaking wooden sign overhead.  It read in faded letters:

ye olde currencee changer of pwyre

all lands money accepted and traded 

            Elia stepped up to the door and studied it for a moment.  The glass was all smoky, so she couldn't see in.  She stepped back a few paces and swung the door open to look inside.  She saw her guide talking with a man at a counter.  There was a big map on the opposite side of the tiny room.  Nothing else.

            She gulped and stepped in.

            "Aw, is dat da gir'?" said the man from behind the counter.

            Elia hesitated.  There was no one else in the room.  She shut the door behind her and stepped up, bowing.  "Good morning, sir."

            The man behind the counter laughed.  He was a rounded man with not much of his graying hair left.  His skin was wrinkled, and he gave off a foul odor like the pipes that some of Dain's customers smoked.  "Dat's prob'ly the on'y time I ever called sir," he laughed through his sparse yellow teeth.

            "I think you're scaring her," Elia's guide told the man with a wink.

            Elia blushed and said, "No, that is not the case, sir."  It was a lie, though.  This man was extremely frightening to Elia.

"Fa'give me, lil' lady."

            Elia pulled her soggy cloak around her, stepping up to the counter, which had all sorts of interesting stains decorating its worn surface.

            "How much ya want?" asked the owner.

            Elia looked at her guide helplessly.  She had no idea what things cost here.  She reached into the pocket of her cloak and withdrew her purse, which was pretty wet.  She fumbled around and withdrew some shiny rupees, placing them on the counter.

            "Yer plannin' to live da high life, eh?" the older man said, scooping up the five hundred rupees.  "Jus' a minute now."  He retreated to the backdoor, sticking an old key into its lock and slipping into the room.  The young woman had a hard time believing that such a tiny little room could have a back room.

            While he was gone, Elia stepped over to the map that took up about half of the wall.  It was a rectangle of hide embroidered with various shapes and words.  It took Elia a while to find Hyrule in the upper right corner of the map.  There was a picture of a rupee below the label.  And then, surrounding Hyrule was a huge shape that seemed to encompass all of it.  The patch had to been a dozen times bigger than Hyrule and its brother lands (like the Kokiri forest).  This part of the map was labeled 'Diola' and was accompanied by outlines of coins with various drawings on them.  Around Diola, then, was a part outlined in blue that said 'Great Ocean' on it.  Other countries lay in this ocean, but Elia was most fascinated by Diola.

            "Aw, so ya likes me map, eh?" said the owner, who had since emerged.

            Elia nodded.  "Do you happen to know where I could obtain a map myself?" she asked.

            "Ya know, doncha?" the owner said to the other man.

            "Yes."  He turned to Elia.  "I will take you after this if you wish."

            Elia stepped up to the counter.  The balding man held out his hand and counted coins into her palm, which the girl placed into her purse and then into her inner cloak pocket.

            "Let us go," said her guide.

            Elia thanked the coin exchanger and headed for the door.  As she started up the steps, she heard the owner say, "Have yourselfs a good day, ya hear?  Come back anytime, Manlyn."

            Elia turned around to see her guide slamming the door shut with a startled look in his eye.

            Elia knew it now.  She had found the missing emperor, back in his own capital.  This was not just any man.  This was Manlyn.

^-^-^-^


	12. Lakia

^-^-^-^

            Elia sat at the table, fingering her new dress.  She had gone out and bought a new one, because all she had had on before under her cloak was the nightgown.   This now lay hanging up over the fire in Elia's room upstairs at the Castle Inn.

            Elia was now seated next to Manlyn at a small wooden table in the dining room of the Castle Inn.  He was brooding over a cup of ale, while she was busily sipping a hot mug of chocolate.

            Manlyn had not mentioned anything about his identity.  Elia imagined he thought a young Hylian would not know about who he was.  Either that or he was hoping she hadn't heard at all.  He had kept his quiet composure, taking her to a dress shop and then to this inn, which lay several blocks from the busy market.  However, when he did speak, his voice was high and he stuttered as it had been before.  He was nervous.

            A waitress came and set down a platter of steaming food between them.  Elia thanked her kindly and eagerly picked up the bread bowl of soup.  She held it to her lips and drank in the savory liquid.  It was thick with pieces of meat and vegetables.  It tasted a lot like what was served at Dain's tavern, except for a different variety of spices were used and the meat was tougher.

            "You did not have to buy this for me," Manlyn said quietly.  He took the crooked knife and began cutting his roll in half.

            "No, sir; you have done many favors for me already by showing me around this city," Elia said friendlily.  She also possessed ulterior motives; she wanted to find out more about his past.  

            "Hmm," was all she got out of him.  He seemed rather interested in his roll.

            Elia wondered absently what day it was.  She had left Hyrule how long ago, now?  A week?  A month?  How was Dain?  How was the house?  

            "What is troubling you?" questioned Manlyn, buttering the other side of his roll.  

            Elia smiled and shook her head.  "I was just thinking about my home," she said.  It was refreshing to be truthful.  Why had she lied so much?

            "Ah, home," Manlyn repeated knowingly.  He nodded.  "You do seem rather homesick, child."

            'Child'?  Dain…  Nylan… 

            "I'm sorry, I've troubled you more.  I meant to say 'miss'."  He looked at her, concerned.  "Are you…crying?"

            Elia wiped her eyes.  "No.  Heh," she said after a bit.  "I am not crying _anymore_, I suppose."  She picked up the greasy napkin and turned it about to the clean side before drying her eyes with it.  "I really am I child, you know.  No matter how old I get or how hard I try to be mature, I seem to be stuck being naïve."

            "Innocence is beauty," he murmured.

            Elia looked up, a little surprised.

            Manlyn smiled at her nervously.  "It's a saying here in Pwyre.  I grew up hearing it.  Please do not start thinking me a perverse fellow, now."

            "Oh, I did not think anything like that!" she exclaimed.  

            "Hmm," he said again.

            They both gave up conversation for feasting, even requesting second helpings.  It came time to pay.  Elia took out her purse and dumped out the Diolan coins on the table.  "Manlyn, which coins are which?" she asked, embarrassed.  

            He took one finger and pushed three of the coins aside.  Pointing to the first one, he said, "This one here is worth 1000 di."  The coin was big, brass, and shiny.  On it was a symbol of a mountain lion in front of a castle.  He moved his finger to the second largest coin, which was red with the picture of a mountain on it.  "This is worth 500.  This is worth 100," he said finally, touching the last coin, a blue one bearing a fish.

            Elia counted up the coins.  "So I have…about…um…"

            "8000 di," Manlyn said before she could come up with the number.

            Elia about applauded.  "You, sir, are a regular mathematician."

            He smiled at her oddly.  "I suppose you could say that.  It is quite simple, though; one rupee is worth roughly twenty di."

            Elia scooped up most the coins and deposited them back into her purse.  She stood, leaving the remaining ones on the table next to the empty mugs.  "Let us go to this mapmaker, shall we?"

            Manlyn nodded.  They headed for the door.  However, when Manlyn tried to open it, the thing swung shut in their faces.

            "I'm afraid the wind's an awful fright just now," said the innkeeper from his counter.  He gestured at the window, which was currently being pelted with sleet.  "I would not recommend going out this afternoon."

            Just as he said that, a crowd of people staggered in from outside, breathing in the warm air gladly.  The innkeeper turned his attention to them, eager to fetch his wife to pour drinks for them.

            Elia shrugged.  "I am already feeling a bit sick from wearing snow earlier.  I do not wish to relive the experience."

            Manlyn cracked a smile.  "What do you suggest we do, then?"

            Elia looked at him anxiously.  "Perhaps you could tell me more about Diola?"

            He nodded and escorted the lady to two seats in front of the roaring fire.  

            Elia leaned back in the comfortable armchair.  She recalled when she and Link used to spend the evenings in front of the fire, watching the flames and telling stories.  She remembered that he had kissed her first in front of a fire.  She blushed.

            Manlyn seemed not to notice.  In a rather peculiar fashion, the man looked at the new customers, scanning each of their faces before pulling up his hood to hide his face.  He looked at Elia's puzzled face and sighed.  "I am usually on the move," he said, a rather strange way to explain himself.

            Elia leaned a bit closer to the man and whispered, "Is it because you do not want them to know that you are the emperor?"

            His eyes widened.  "Hush, child!" he snarled through clenched teeth.  "Do not say such things in public!"

            Elia backed away.  "You thought I did not know," she observed.

            "I have successfully hid from my own kinsmen for thirty years, and a _foreign_ girl identifies me."  He threw up his hands while saying this.  "What do you want with me?"  His voice, which at first had been fierce, was now in that same nervous tone.

            The young woman said, "It is not very nice to refer to a _lady_ as a 'foreign girl'.  And, in addition, I really do not want anything from you.  I did not wish to tumble down into this valley in the first place."

            He eyed her suspiciously.  "Young lady, I will trust you only if you recount your story to me."

            Something about the way he had said it, the way it had sounded like a challenge, got to her.  Elia crossed hers arms.  "I have nothing to hide, not from you—nor anyone."

            "Then tell away, miss.  Tell away."

            Elia thought for a moment.  Where to start?  Finally, she cleared her throat in the most ladylike way she could.  She had all but given up the noblewoman farce, but that did not mean she couldn't act like a lady.  "I come from Hyrule," she began, "I left weeks ago on a mission to save…someone special to me.  I had never heard of Diola until I heard that he might be here.  And so I came.

            "After getting a ways into Diola, I met up with members of the Fifth Tribe.  They thought some other Fifth Tribesmen might have some idea about my…special person's whereabouts.  So I stayed with them for a while.  The man with clues, as it turned out, was not with the rest of the tribe, but rather heading to Hyrule.  So, with some of my new companions, we headed down the _Chanta_ towards where he was.

            "We came to the Sacred Temple and stayed for a while.  I…I…"

            "Hmm?" he prodded.

            Elia wondered about him, but wondered more about how she would describe getting lost and bouncing down the side of a mountain.  Then, sounding as regal as she could, Elia declared, "I then came to Pwyre."

            "That is all?"

            _Most of it_, Elia thought, but she said, "Yes, that is all."  _All you need to know anyway_.

            Manlyn considered this for a long time.  "I suppose you are too young to be what I thought you were," he said finally.

            Elia demanded of him, "And what did you _think_ I was?"

            The rest of the room looked at the two of them, staring almost.  Elia realized that she had practically yelled her last comment, and all the people in the big room were within earshot.

            Manlyn practically glared at the girl.  "Humph, I do not know.  And why would I tell a moody child, anyway?"

            "I treat you to dinner and you treat me like a—what did you say?—ah, '_moody child_'?!" she growled, vaulting from her seat.  She ran through the throngs of people and up the stairs to her room.

            Elia found herself waking up some time later.  She was stretched over the bed.  The young woman vaguely remembered slamming the door and collapsing onto the mattress.

            Now, she got up and strode over to the window.  It was dark outside, and the wind had disappeared.  Now big, fluffy flakes were gently fluttering down from the heavens.  Elia saw that down there, three or so stories below her, were a few people walking about, most holding lanterns.

            Elia fingered the plain white dress she wore, unbuttoning and re-buttoning the buttons of the collar.  The valley was snowed in now.  Winter was here.  Would she be stuck until the spring thaw came?

            _But I cannot leave_, she thought to herself.  _What if someone comes looking for me?  I will have to stay put…_

            Elia sighed.  She still felt pretty sleepy, so she peeled off her over clothing and slipped under the quilt.  It was warm there, as opposed to the chilly air of the room.  If she had paid triple the amount she did, Elia could have gotten one of the luxury rooms with a fireplace.  But she had been scrimping and saving all her life; she wasn't about to blow so much money on a thing so frivolous.  

            Elia leaned back into the sheets and began to dream of when this would all be over, and she would be with Link…

            "Miss Elia, I need you to keep stirring this."

            "Yes, Mistress," Elia said, complying.  She stepped over to the fire and took hold of the wooden ladle, gently sloshing it around in the soup.  The smells were familiar now; she had been working at the Castle Inn in exchange for her room, meals, and a small wage for almost five months now.

            Working for the innkeeper's wife had been a different experience than working at Dain's tavern.  Her boss feared that a Hylian accent would put discomfort into the customers.  So, Elia would help in the kitchen at meal times and would clean rooms the rest of her hours.

            Elia really had expected it to be a long, cold winter.  However, she completely threw herself into work.  The months had slipped by easily, much like the years had before Elia had embarked on this journey to Diola.

            She had not seen Manlyn again.  She thought she might have glimpsed him once on an errand to the market square, but she cared little for such a rude man.  Perhaps he had helped her a little, but he had thought her something awful, not trusting her.  Yes, she definitely did not care to meet with that man ever again.

            Now, Elia was busily stirring.  Her mistress came back.

            The gray-haired woman said, "That's the last of it.  The last customer.  You go up to your room now."

            "Thank you," Elia said, bidding her goodnight and heading up the kitchen steps to the first floor landing.  She then ran up the only staircase to the third floor.  She had chosen the attic room on purpose; although it was the smallest, coldest room, there was a big round window on either side.  She could look to see if anyone she knew was in Pwyre from here.

            As Elia dressed for bed, she did just that.  She gazed out the northern window, as she often did; from there she could view the castle.  The young woman had walked by the castle sometimes, but there was no way to get close.  It was surrounded by a huge wall and there were guards everywhere.  Elia learned that this was because the government was in real chaos.  It had been since the death of Manlyn's father many years ago.

            It really was not noticeable to an outsider.  Elia heard that, no matter how peaceful things appeared on the outside, they really weren't.  All over Diola, civil wars were raging.  Pwyre, located in a sheltered valley, was free from the actual bloodshed of the outside world.  But there had been violent protests in the city itself that were squashed by the incredibly strict new law enforcement.

            "Diola really doesn't _have_ a government right now," the innkeeper had told Elia once.  "After the mess with Manlyn, some people wanted to just establish a new dynasty and get over with it.  But that really wasn't possible.  You see, there are so many groups of Diolans, all of which having their own opinion as to what would make a good emperor.  And so they created a silly council instead, trying to have equal representation to decide on who should be in charge.  However, one man can't possibly share the viewpoints of two dozen separate groups, and so they have never decided on a worthwhile thing.  All they do is send out their police to make sure no riots occur and things are peaceful in Pwyre."

            This puzzled Elia.  How could a huge country go on so long without a true government?  It seemed so impossible, especially since Elia hadn't seen any wars herself and everyone in Pwyre seemed happy.

            The innkeeper's wife had said about this, "Of course everyone in _Pwyre_ is happy.  In the big cities they keep things calm.  Everyone's so cozy, they forget that there's war all around us.  People are killing and dying just over the mountains just so we can keep our cozy little life.  And here we are, oblivious to our own saviors.  It's terrible sad, but as true as the fact that you and I are standing here, Miss Elia."

            Elia gazed at the castle.  Its silver turrets shone in the soft moonlight, and its towers glowed with fires burning inside.  It was little wonder where Castle Inn got its name, for the view of Diola Palace was incredible.

            Her eyes wandered to the street below.  As spring approached, more and more people were out later and later.  The snow was gone from the city, and Elia could see the earth in the valley was free as well.  Only higher up did the snow still linger, and Elia knew it probably would stay so until the broiling sun of summer appeared.  It had always been that way with Death Mountain.

            Elia sat down on the edge of the bed and gingerly kicked off her slippers.  She was halfway to being horizontal when she heard the voice of the innkeeper's wife's voice calling up the stairs.

            "Miss Elia!  Miss Elia!"

            Elia sighed.  What could it be now?  She sat up and put back on her shoes, rising slowly and going back down the small, rickety staircase to where her boss stood.

            The woman was holding a stack of items:  a folded brown blanket, a white bed sheet, a pillowcase, and a candle with a brass candleholder.  She handed these to Elia, explaining, "The last customer also requires a room—but he needs the one with the big bed.  My husband is checking him in now, so could you please put these in the last room?"

            "Yes, ma'am," she agreed quietly, bowing and heading to complete her duties.  It wasn't often they had to use the big bed.  Perhaps a tall hero was there, perhaps Link—

            No.  Elia shook her head.  It was too much to dream for.  She pulled the sheet over the long mattress and then laid the comforter and pillow delicately on top.  She put the candle in the candleholder and placed it on the tall, wooden bedside table.  Her work done, she headed for the door.

            Her mistress almost knocked her over as she hurried in.  She looked at Elia oddly before heading to the fireplace and starting a fire.  "Miss Elia, we have a _Goron_ guest!  A huge one!  He'll be here in a moment.  Don't be scared."

            Elia said, "I lived in Kakariko Village, Mistress.  I saw Gorons everyday."  She went over and helped the older woman to stand.  Secretly, Elia was disappointed.  It was not Link.  She knew that Link was not _that_ tall, and that it was so much to hope for that he would come, but she could not have helped wishing for it.  Now her hopes were shattered.

            "Miss Elia!"

            Elia looked up from the depths of her depression, startled by the familiar, rumbling voice.

            She was greeted by a big grin on a huge brown face.  "Miss Elia, it's you!"

            "Aden!" she cried, meeting his gaze.  She stepped up to him, for he had just ducked through the door.  

            Her mistress said, "So you know him?" before weaving around the huge man and closing the door behind her.

            Aden scratched his head.  "Here I am givin' up my search for you, and you are at the inn!  Amazin'!"

            "Looking…for me?"  Elia blushed.  "I am sorry to have put you through any trouble, Aden."

            He shook his head and sat down on the end of the bed, motioning for Elia to sit on the lone chair in the room.  "No trouble, Miss Elia.  I was so glad to do it."

            Elia moved her skirts about and sat.  "Oh, Aden, you have to tell me everything that happened."

            He nodded slowly.  "Everythin', huh?  Let me see…  Aw, yeah.  You see, I went to your room to tell you…somethin'.  But you weren't there, and all your things were.  Nylan and Xua were gettin' ready to leave, but I ran and told 'em.  Xua used his magic and whatever and said you'd gone out the other side of the mountain.  But it had just started snowin' and everyone said it'd be too dangerous for somebody to look for you.  Nylan said they had to go after Dune more than ever now.  So I volunteered to wait out the winter at the temple.  But somethin' real funny happened right then.

            "Funny?" Elia asked, learning forward in her seat to listen more closely.

            "Yep.  All of a sudden, my dad and Nabooru burst in, looking for you.  And then the head priests came in for Xua.  And so the priests ended up running after Nylan and Xua—'cause the two of 'em didn't wanna get caught.  I'm telling you, it was a real mess.  And then my dad and Nabooru, along with their servants, ran off too.  Everyone forgot about me—and I hadn't had a chance to tell Dad my new name yet."  He sighed.  "It was so confusin', though.  But I kept my promise and waited at the temple for spring.  And then I came after you."

            Elia just sat there, blinking.  "That _is_ terribly strange.  Did you find anything out while you waited?"

            Aden scratched his head.  "Not much.  That isn't to say I wasn't tryin', though—

'cause I sure was!  All I got from the priests and everyone was that…lemme think…  Aw, yeah.  The head priestess wanted Xua 'cause he was 'really important.'  Oh, and that Dad and Nabooru were 'on their way' somewhere."

            "Nothing makes any sense, Aden," Elia said quietly.

            Aden jumped up suddenly.  "Goddesses!  I forgot about her!  She's been waitin' this whole time!"  He ran out the door, at first forgetting to open it, and then leaving it open on his way out.

            Elia sat there, bewildered.  Her…?  Waiting…?  What…?

            Aden appeared at the door sometime later.  "Hey, Miss Elia…  Do you have a younger sister?"

            What a strange question!  "No, just an older one.  Why, for heaven's sake?"

            "You don't?"  Aden completely paused.  He looked at something behind him before turning back around to stare at her.  The Goron looked back and forth between Elia and whatever was behind him.  Finally, he stepped aside, and someone stepped forward.  "She looks so much like you, Miss Elia.  I was sure she had to be your sister."

            The person he spoke of was a young girl with brown pigtails hanging down.  She _did_ look rather like Elia: she had the same auburn hair, the same big, brown eyes, and the pale skin.  Right now, the girl was holding a cookie as big as her hand and chewing on a piece of it contentedly.  She seemed oblivious to everything else that was going on.

            Suddenly, the girl looked up with a sparkling smile.  "Good evening!" she exclaimed through a giggle.  She looked up and said to Aden, "Mr. Goron, who is this lady?"

            Elia was rather puzzled.  The girl's voice showed that she was Hylian.  "You do look like me…  What are you doing here?"

            The girl became too absorbed in her cookie again.  She dared a peak up at Elia and blushed through her wavy bangs.

            Elia stood, walking towards the girl.  She looked to Aden, almost helpless.

            Aden scratched his head.  "I found her when I was coming to town.  She was lost, and she looked like you, so I thought that maybe she would know you.  But it seems I was wrong."

            The girl walked over to the bed and sat down on it, rocking on it as she polished off her treat.  She wiped her fingers on the front of a blue jumper.  "Where's Mama?" she asked, looking at them both.

            Elia mumbled, "I wish I knew."

            "Miss Elia—" Aden started.

            The girl perked up, hopping off the tall bed to fall on two small feet.  "Elia, Elia!" she cried.  "Mama always talks about Auntie Elia!"  She ran and took the woman's hands in her own tiny ones.  "Are you my auntie?"

            Elia's eyes widened as the girl swung her arms back and forth playfully.  "Is your mama…  What is your mama's name?"

            "Mama, of course!"  The girl giggled and began to fiddle with one of her short pigtails.  When Elia thought she was getting nowhere, the youngster seemed to remember something.  "But Daddy always calls her Milrina."

            "Oh, Goddesses!"  Elia fell to her knees and embraced the child.  "You are Millie's girl…"

            "Yay!  I knew it, you _are_ my Auntie Elia!"

            Aden watched as the two embraced.  "Miss Elia, this is your…niece, then?"

            Elia wiped her eyes, for she had started crying.  She looked into the girl's eyes.  "What is your name, then?"

            "Lakia," she replied with a grin.  "But…  Mama's friend Mrs. Porter always calls me 'Little Missy.'  It's _weird_."  Her voice was light and sweet, like the gentle twangs of a harp.

            "Lakia, Lakia," repeated Elia slowly.  "How did you get here?  Did Millie—I mean, your mama—did she take you?"

            "Yep!  She took me and Radley and the baby 'cause she was fighting with Daddy.  We went to Kakariko, but we couldn't find you, so we talked to this lady and she told us to come to Diola...and…um…I'm sleepy."  Lakia yawned and stretched her little arms.  "I wanna go to bed.  Where's Mama?"

            Elia picked up the girl, who soon fell asleep on her shoulder.  "I will take her to sleep with me tonight," she whispered to Aden.  "We can talk tomorrow; I have the day off."

            Aden, who looked rather tired himself, nodded and opened the door for the woman.  "Good night," he whispered, and it sounded kind of weird; a rumbling Goron whispering something so sweetly.  He gazed after Elia, watching her carrying the napping Lakia through the hall motherly.  He could only smile longingly.

^-^-^-^


	13. A New Arrival

^-^-^-^

            Elia, Aden, and Lakia walked away from the bustling market square, talking.  Elia held tightly onto the girl's hand, because this was the situation in which Lakia had lost her mother not long ago.  That was the threesome's objective:  to find Milrina.

            The two adults had extrapolated from the eight-year-old's distracted ramblings that the girl had been traveling with her family the day before.  Somehow, Lakia got separated from the others in the crowd.  She wandered around before finding Aden, who looked after the child from then on.

            Elia scanned each face carefully, her heart racing every time she glimpsed a brown-haired woman.  But no, no face possessed the vivid hazel eyes or the smile Elia remembered so well.  _She must have changed since now_, Elia told herself forcefully.  _It's been eight years…  Millie, what are you like now?  Are you terribly different?_

            "Mama!"

            Elia was brought back to the present, ripped away from her troubling thoughts.  Lakia had just cried out, and now the young girl was running to her mother.

            Elia watched on, a bit surprised when she saw her sister's face for the first time in eight years.  She looked so much older, and so tired…  On her back was a small child, and in her arms was a boy.  Her belly was swollen, too.  Another baby on the way?  The main thing Elia noticed, though, was that her sibling looked tired.  But now she was happy, because she was hugging her daughter tightly and crying.

            And then, the woman stood and looked at Elia.  She smiled weakly.  "Ellie, is it you?"

            "Millie!" cried Elia, rushing forth in the same fashion as her niece.  Millie had put down her boy, so the other woman practically crashed into her, sobbing as well.  "Millie, Millie…is it you?"

            Milrina sniffled and backed away a little bit, wiping her eyes.  "I just asked that, you silly."

            They both laughed through their tears and embraced again.  After eight years, it seemed that nothing had really changed.

            Of course, things had changed now.  They all sat in a café a few minutes later, waiting for tea to be brought out to the group of small tables.  The children were playing with the napkins, Aden was watching them, and Elia and Milrina were catching up.

            "Millie…  What has happened to you?" Elia asked quietly.  "You look so tired."

            "What has happened to me?"  Her sister scoffed.  "_He_ has happened to me."  She gestured at her swollen stomach.

            "Fergus?"

            "Yes, my _wonderful_ husband…"  Milrina gritted her teeth.  "If I had only been sensible before…but it is too late now.  I have the children to take care of."  Her head drooped down, her forehead brushing against the table.

            Elia licked her lips.  "But, Millie…you love your children, right?"

            "Oh, yes.  More than anything.  I would be resentful of them if I loved them a drop less, Elia.  A drop less."  Milrina rested her head on her hands, her eyes still on the table.  She laughed bitterly.  "When I marched off to get married to Fergus at sixteen, I was so happy, and I thought how grown up I was.  I would go and have a perfect marriage, far away from Mother and Father…  But I was pregnant within such a short time and I realized how wrong I had been.  It was too late.

            "Lakia was born, and my entire life was spent taking care of her.  Before she was out of her babyhood, I had Radley…  From then on, the cycle turned vicious."  She stared straight into her younger sister's eyes.  "It seems that I have been barefoot and pregnant for the past eight years, Elia.  No breaks, no time to rest.  No time to grow up."  She scoffed.  "But I feel like I am fifty years old."

            Elia did not know what to say.  Finally, she said, "And so this is why you fought with Fergus?"

            Milrina took a mug of steaming coffee from the waitress, who had just arrived.  She took a long drink of it, sighed, and said, "When I found out I was to have another child, that _fool_ made the mistake of telling me I looked my best when I _was_ barefoot and pregnant!"  She slammed down her now empty mug.  "I have given him two sons already—what more can a nobleman want?"

            "Sister, I am so sorry," Elia said quietly.  "I had no idea, really."

            She smiled softly.  "No, Ellie, no.  It was not your fault.  I had to escape from our house, from Mother and Father.  I thought I could handle it, and I was wrong.  My mistake, not yours.  There was nothing you could have done, Little Elia."

            The other woman tensed slightly.  She had not been called that since she was ten years old.  It was sad to be brought back to the past, but she smiled anyway.  "I should have come to see you, Millie."

            "What happened to Mother and Father, Elia?  When I went looking for you in Kakariko, and this Dain woman told me a little about what had happened.  They both left?"

            "Five years ago," Elia explained soberly.  "Father on an eternal business trip, and then Mother with a strange man a while later."

            Milrina leaned over the table, whispering, "Hey, can we trust that guy there?"  She motioned with her eyes to Aden.

            "I should think so," Elia said, considerably more loudly.  "He is a good friend of mine."

            Aden looked over at them curiously, scratching his bald head as always.

            "Good.  Then, sir," the older woman said to the Goron, "I should like to take my sister on a walk around town.  Could you watch my children for a while?"

            Aden scratched his head and said, "Surely, ma'am.  It'd be a pleasure."

            Milrina nodded, scooping up her baby in her arms.  "Lakia, Radley, be good for the nice gentleman."

            "Yes, Mama," the two chanted together, seeming more interested in their whipped chocolate desserts than whoever watched over them.

            The two sisters left the café, buttoning up their cloaks as they exited the warm room.  They began towards the market square.

            "I am so glad to have found Lakia!" remarked Milrina.  "I looked for her half the night.  Believe me, I would have looked the other half had I not had Radley and the baby crying their little eyes out."  She sighed.  "I feel like the worst mother in the world, Elia.  I only looked away from her for a _second_, and she was gone."

            "Millie, you should not feel bad.  You are so busy now."

            "Ha.  Indeed I am.  But I cannot fix anything now.  I love my children, I only wish that I had waited to have them and that they were more spread out."  She bounced the baby on her right hip as she and Elia waited for a public carriage to get out of the way.  The thing was filling up with passengers, so it took a while.

            "What is his name?" Elia said, leaning to look into the little boy's eyes.

            "Finn."  She grimaced slightly.  "I did not like the name.  Fergus came up with it; it was the name of his favorite uncle.  So I usually just call him 'the baby'."  She patted her stomach.  "In a month or so, I will not have that option anymore."

            The baby reached up and stuck his finger into Milrina's mouth.  "Mama!  Mama!" he giggled, and moved his arms around his mother's neck.

            Milrina brought her fingers through the baby's red hair.  "It is funny; both my boys look like Fergus, with the red hair and everything."  She patted the batch of soft curls gently before squeezing the baby to her chest.  

            "Lakia looks like you, though, Millie."

            She shook her head.  "Nay; I rather think she looks more like you."

            The coach finished passing and the two stepped into the hustle and bustle of the market square.  Elia noticed more unfamiliar faces than usual, and realized that people were probably visiting Pwyre now that the weather had improved.

            The weather itself was not too great that day.  Earlier, the sun had been shining and there had been only clouds of white marshmallow in the sky.  Now, the clouds had thickened, turning gray-black and slowly consuming the sea of blue.  Once in a while, a rumble of thunder was heard in the far distance, but people seemed unfettered by it.  They only shopped faster and harder (if that was possible).  Perhaps, Elia thought, it was to finish before the rain came.

            "Ellie, look at this!" Milrina said, pulling her sister over to a whitewashed stall covered in pieces of colored silk.  "Are these scarves not beautiful?"  She fingered one with her free hand.  "I have not felt finer silk in Hyrule Castle Town."

            "Of course you wouldn't," snarled the stall owner, looking as though he wanted to rip back the scarf from Milrina's hand.  "The silk of Hyrule is made by _worms_."

            Elia sensed that the man was hostile toward Hyrule, but she smiled in a friendly way.  "What then, good sir, makes the silk here?"

            The man glared over the rims of his gold plated glasses.  "By the fairies, of course.  Magical silk is the only kind a decent lady would wear.  I could never imagine touching silk made by a _bug_."

            Milrina frowned slightly, but she looked as though she had fallen in love with the violet scarf she was touching.  The scarf was embroidered with a pattern of small white flowers around the border, each little blossom connected to others with twisting vines.

            "How much, sir?" Elia asked.

            "Each scarf only 850 di, miss—except for ones embroidered with gold.  Those are 1000."  He pointed at some pieces on the other side of his cart.

            "I would like this one, please," Elia said, digging around in her small, leather purse for the money.  She handed it over and took her change gratefully.  She said to her sister, "Hope you like it."

            "Oh, Ellie, thank you so much!"  Milrina grinned, pulling the long fabric about her neck.  "You are always so generous."

            Elia smiled.  She thanked the peddler and pulled her sister along.

            Finn began pulling on his mother's new accessory, forcing the woman to put it away deep in her cloak pocket so he wouldn't ruin it.

            Milrina kissed her son's forehead and mumbled, "At least I had the chance to feel like a normal young lady for a minute, anyway.  Before remembering I am a mother."  She sighed quietly.

            Elia walked along in silent reflection.

            "Hey, Ellie," Milrina said, sounding a lot more like her old self.

            Elia blinked.  "What?"

            "You know that Goron man?  Why, he seems quite infatuated with you."

            Elia blushed.  "You only have just met him!  Wh-What are you talking about?"

            "He looks at you so longingly, though!"  She laughed.  "I think he's in love with you, little sister!"

            This only made the younger woman's cheeks darken.  "Really, Millie.  I think you are over-reading the friendship between Aden and me."

            "I am sure."  Milrina winked, taking wide, slow steps across the cobblestone street.  "Perhaps _you_ think that it's just a friendship, but it seems to me that he wants it to be something more."

            "Millie!" growled her sibling.  "I see you are back to your old self."

            "And you to yours, dear sister.  You always lie like this.  You are such a bad liar too.  Do not forget that I was there from when you were born.  You are _so_ easy to read.  You have not changed one little bit."

            "You're awful!" Elia cried out, frustrated.  She stopped at a bare wall and leaned her head against it.  She held up her ring and stared at it.  It was so simple, just a plain band.  But it meant everything to her.

            "Sis, I'm sorry," Milrina said, standing beside her.  "I was just teasing you."

            "I know, I know," Elia told her, sniffling.  "But you are wrong about Aden.  He is just my friend.  Even if he _did_ like me, I could never return his feelings, Millie."  She whipped around and looked at her sister.  "Do you know _why_ I am here in Diola?  I came looking for the one I do love."

            Milrina readjusted Finn on her hip.  "I do remember hearing that you fell in love with the Hero of Time.  Elia—"

            "I know!  I know what you're going to say!"  Elia swiftly turned her back to Milrina.  "You will say that I am a fool to chase after such silly dreams."

            "Ha, how would you know what I would say before I said it.  I do not recall you having any magical powers that predicted the future."

            "So what were you going to say?"

            "You are humbled now, hmm?"

            "_Sister_."

            "So perhaps you and the Hero of Time did fall in love.  I loved Fergus, Elia.  I still do.  Just because you love someone does not mean that everything will go like it does in fairy tales.  I just want you to be careful."

            "I know, Millie.  I am a grown woman now!"

            "A grown woman, eh?  Then why do you sound so unsure as you say that?"

            Elia was glad her back was to Milrina.  Right now the younger woman wore an absolutely horrified look on her face.  She was frozen, a statue as everyone else in the square moved about on his business.

            Finn began to cry loudly.  Elia realized that it had started to rain.  She wiped her face and pulled up her cloak hood to cover her long, pointed ears and her beautiful, wavy russet hair.

            Milrina put on her own hood and tucked her son under the cloak.  She said nothing, but she started walking back to the café with her sister close behind.

            After an early dinner several hours later, everyone was sitting in Elia's room at the Castle Inn.  The rain had been persistent all afternoon, and it still was storming down from the clouds as they spoke.  Lakia and her two little brothers were sprawled across the bed, while the women sat on the room's only two chairs and Aden on the floor.

            Elia had been quiet since the conversation with Milrina earlier.  She had been busily contemplating the words they shared, but she just kept getting upset about the situation and made herself feel worse and worse.  Link…  What if the future she hoped for with him came true, only in a horrible way?  There had always been that warning about 'Be careful what you wish for'…  What if it were true?

            "Miss Elia, are you all right?" Aden asked for the about the twelfth time that day.

            "I am fine," Elia replied robotically.  She fingered the choker around her neck. 

            "Miss Elia?"

            "Aden, I said I was fine."  Elia sighed.  "I wonder how everyone is.  Aden, did you make any plans to rendezvous with Nylan?"

            He scratched his head.  "We didn't exactly have lots of time.  But I figure they probably are gonna come find us once they find this Dune guy."

             Milrina shook her head.  "A lot of things have been going on in your life, little sister."

            There was a knock at the door.

            "Who is it?" Elia asked, starting for the door.  She heard only a muffled male voice.

            Aden looked at Elia.  "I'll get it."  He waved her back and walked over, slowly turning the knob.  "Speak of the devil," he muttered, amazed.

            "Nylan!" breathed Elia.  

            Indeed, there he stood at the door.  However, he was dressed in garb similar to that of the townspeople.  His hair was even pulled back to make it look like it was short.  Was he in disguise?

            Nylan walked in slowly, looking at the people in the room.  "Elia, you are here."

            "It is more remarkable that _you_ are _here_," the woman said, rushing forth and embracing him.  "How did you find me?  Where is Xua?"

            Nylan hugged her back, but he backed away and shut the door soon afterwards.  "Xua is in hiding.  He could not come so close to the temple."

            "Ellie, could you explain what is going on here?" Milrina asked from her chair.

            "Oh, certainly.  In fact, I think we all have a lot of explaining to do right now."

            Nylan nodded slowly.  "This is interesting.  So you just came today, Aden?"

            The Goron nodded.  "I didn't know you'd come so quick after me."

            "I think it was just a coincidence.  However, it is very good that you are safe, Elia.  Xua could not get a firm hold on your readings.  But we had to go after Dune.  As it was, we were…too late."

            "Oh, no!" Elia said, covering her mouth.  "What…What happened to him?"

            Nylan shook his head.  "He was in the middle of a battle.  I am afraid the years have not been kind to him, and the injuries he got could not be healed.  He…He…"  Nylan sighed.  "The poor man died just moments after we arrived.  All I heard him say was, 'My sister, dear sister…now she shall die alone.'  But he smiled at me when I came in…"  He was crying now.

            Elia rushed to him and flung her small arms around her friend.  "Nylan, it will be all right."

            "I know it will, child," he repeated, wiping his eyes after she backed away.  "But Dune was a mentor to me for many, many years.  I knew him so long as a brave warrior, and yet…he slipped away so quickly."

            Elia felt her own eyes moisten, but she blinked the threatening tears away.

            Everyone was silent for a long while.  The children had fallen asleep in the middle of Elia's account, and the adults had nothing to say.  But then, Nylan spoke again.

            "Elia, I did talk to Dune's son, though, for he was there."

            "Yes?"

            The man fumbled around in his satchel for something.  Finally, he withdrew a piece of paper.  He held it out to Elia, who plucked it eagerly out of his fingers.  On the paper was drawn a rough sketch of Diola.

            Elia stared at it.  She heard Nylan saying, "His son also saw Link.  He said that Link was heading to Benzar Village.  That is southwest from here."

            Elia found a dot on the map that was labeled "Benzar" in hurried writing.  Not too far from it was a line that said "Chanta Tributary".  This line connected with a thicker one reading "Chanta".

            Nylan said, "Elia, come here and show me the map."

            Obediently, Elia knelt down next to the man's chair and handed the paper to him.

            Nylan put a thick finger on an oval.  "This is Pwyre Valley.  If we head through the southern mountain pass, we will be in the foothills."  He moved his digit down gradually, out of the oval, and then swiftly to the left.  "This is where Xua is hiding.  My plan is to take the southern pass and reunite with him at the river.  We will cross the river there and head north—"

            "North?" interrupted Elia, seeing that the town of Benzar was south.

            "Hold on a minute, child," Nylan said firmly.  "Yes, _north_.  We will head west from there to this other tributary.  That is where the Fifth Tribe is now.  I told them to come there."

            "You communicated?"

            "Why, _yes_, child.  After…well…"  He swallowed.  "After Dune died, Xua and I helped his son bring the body back to the Fifth Tribe.  It was the proper thing to do.

            "We made plans with Wonara to come down to this spot."  He pointed to the end of the tributary, which Elia realized was directly north of Benzar.  "Actually, Kobant said that that was a good place to spend the summer, so he is going to bring the entire Fifth Tribe—only a little later."

            "I see.  Then we will head to Benzar?"

            He nodded.  "We have to be ready for whatever might lay ahead, Elia.  We do not know what has happened to Link."

            Milrina spoke for the first time since Nylan came in.  "Ellie…you really _are_ going after Link."

            Elia turned around and stared at her sister indignantly.  "Why, of course I am!"

            Milrina frowned and looked at her slumbering children.  "I wish I could go with you, Ellie," she said quietly.  "We have only just reunited."

            Elia forced a smile to spread across her face.  "Millie, I promise that, once I find Link, we will _all_ go back to Hyrule together.  You can even live in Kakariko with us if you so desire."

            Milrina smiled softly at that.  She adjusted her loose ponytail saying, "That sounds nice, Ellie.  I—"  Before she could finish, the woman clutched her belly and cried out suddenly.

            Nylan and Aden, who had been sitting, leapt up.

            "Millie?" Elia asked, her heart racing.  "Millie?"

            "My baby…not now…"  The older woman groaned, her head shooting back and her eyes closing tightly.  "Please, not now!"

            "You're going to have it right now?" Aden yelled.  "What do we do?"

            "I don't know, I don't know!"  Elia ran to the bed and shook the children awake.  "Get off the bed!"

            The sleepy girl and boys rubbed their eyes and complied, mumbling inquiries about why they had to get up.

            "Aden," Elia said, "please get my sister on the bed."

            With no effort at all, the big Goron scooped up Milrina from the chair and placed her on top of the bed.  "What now?" he asked, adjusting the pillows under the woman's head.

            "Go and get the innkeeper's wife—hopefully she will know a midwife or something," the younger woman instructed, and Aden ran out the room.  She asked of Nylan, "Can you take the children out of here?"

            Nylan picked up the two boys.  "Little girl, could you come with me?"

            "Mama!  What about Mama?" Lakia asked, staring after her mother as she was led out the door.  Elia could here her saying in the stairwell, "This happened before, mister, and then Finn was born…"

            Elia looked at her sister, who was writhing in pain.  "Sister, I wish I knew what to do."  She squeezed one of Milrina's sweaty hands.

            Milrina opened her eyes slightly.  "It won't be long now.  They say childbirth gets faster each time," she got out between gasps.  "My fourth…what will he be like…?"

            "Sister, you sound delirious now," Elia whispered worriedly.  She kissed her sister's hand.  Elia had heard that many women died of childbirth.  _But Millie is strong.  She will be fine…  She will be fine…_

            "Miss Elia!"

            Elia looked up to see the innkeeper's wife, clad in her blue nightgown, at the door.  She had a bucket of steaming water in one hand and some fresh white towels in the other.  The woman charged right in and scooted Elia out of the way.

            "What should I do?" Elia asked, feeling desperate.

            "Go and get some more blankets, child."  The woman placed a wet cloth over Milrina's forehead.

            Elia ran and got them.

            The rest of the night went like that.  It was not until dawn that Elia found herself rising and her sister sleeping soundly.  In the rocking chair was the innkeeper's wife, holding a small white bundle.  She had drifted off too, it seemed.

            Elia yawned and pushed off the wooden floor with her hands to stand up.  The sun, which was coming a bit earlier with each day, was peaking over the eastern townscape.  The young woman went over to her sister, who was breathing heavily, even in her sleep.  Elia embraced her, thankful that Milrina had pulled through.

            "Hmm?" Milrina mumbled, being pulled gently from her slumber.  "Ah, good morning…"

            Elia took the cloth off of her sister's brow and dunked it in the bucket of cool water.  She wiped off Milrina's sweaty face.  "Shh, go back to sleep, Millie."

            Millie gently moved her head back and forth.  "I wish to see my baby.  I do not even know what it is."

            Elia went and fetched the small bundle.  She walked slowly back over, looking down at the sweet, wrinkled face.  The baby was very small, but it seemed content.  Elia put a finger on the scrunched up miniature nose.  With one of her comparatively large hands, she pulled back the warm white blanket and replaced it.

            "Congratulations, Millie.  You have a boy."  She placed the little guy gingerly into Milrina's outstretched arms.

            "So small," mumbled the drowsy Milrina as she kissed her new child's forehead.  She held him close for a moment, then relaxed her grip.  She looked up at Elia, who sat on the bed, a bit worriedly.  "He is a month early, Elia.  He came too soon.  I think that is why he is so small."

            Elia pulled her fingers through Milrina's messy brown hair.  "I have heard that traveling can sometimes speed along a baby's arrival."  She leaned over and kissed the boy again.  "But he seems healthy, and he is terribly adorable."

            "Aye, you are right," said the innkeeper's wife.  She rose from her chair and came over.  "The baby is premature, which means you will have to make sure he is kept safely away from anyone ill."

            "You mean he might be prone to diseases?"  Milrina hugged her baby tightly.  "He does look so fragile…  My poor son."

            The older woman came over and patted the baby's face gently with the wrinkled back of her hand.  "He must be strong to be alive though."

            "I cannot thank you enough for helping Millie," Elia said to her employer.  "I would not have been able to do anything without you."

            The lady smiled.  "I used to be a midwife before I married, and I have born three children of my own."  She headed for the door.  "I will go start breakfast now; we will be opening soon.  Anything else you require, ladies?"

            "Would you please tell my other children to come up here, please?" Milrina asked.  "I want them to meet their new brother."

            "Surely."  She smiled again upon leaving.

            Elia shook out her hair to free it from the mess it gained after she slept on the rug.  "Hey, Millie, what about…?"  Elia couldn't voice the name.

            "Fergus?"  Milrina paused, then chuckled bitterly.  "He will neglect to like me anymore, now that I am not with child."

            "Millie, you do not have to be so sarcastic about things.  Were matters really that bad with him?"

            She sighed.  "I do not know.  But I just got so tired of staying at home all day with little sleep and little children.  As a politician, Fergus was traveling and attending banquets at the castle."  She sighed.  "It was so unfair, Ellie!  I…I married to get away from home and be different from Mother, but it ended up that I had things worse than she did."

            "But…you said that you still loved him?"

            "Of course I do!" she cried out suddenly, tears appearing.

            The baby woke up with this cry and began to wiggle around, screaming in a tiny little voice.

            "Oh, oh no, baby," Milrina wiped her eyes and cradled the thing.

            "Mama!" Lakia called, running into the room to her mother.  "Mama, what's the matter?  Is it crying?"

            The baby kicked and thrashed for a moment, but it seemed tired from being born and went back to sleep.  Elia breathed a sigh of relief; things were already being pretty difficult as it was.

            Aden walked in and set down Finn and Radley, who toddled to stand beside their sister.  Behind them stood the Goron and Nylan.  They had all spent the night in Aden's room a floor below.

            Milrina smiled through her tears and held the baby up for all of them to see.  "Lakia, Radley, Finn…  I want you to meet your new baby brother."

^-^-^-^


	14. At Long Last

^-^-^-^

            "Sister, I am so sorry to leave you," Elia said sorrowfully.  

            Milrina grinned.  "Nonsense, Little Elia!  You stayed two whole weeks to help me with little Noah, and you set me up with a job here at the inn."  She hugged Elia tightly.  "You have to go follow your own path now."

            Everyone had gathered to leave.  Nylan, Aden, and Elia were saying goodbye to Milrina and her children.  They were standing on the outskirts of the city at the carriage stop.  Here, there was an establishment that offered service through the long mountain pass on the southern side of the valley.  It was midmorning with a warm sun and a few clouds; a very pleasant time for a trip.

            Elia nodded slowly.  "I will find Link and come back here, Millie.  I promise that we will all live together soon."  She hugged her niece and all of her nephews.  "Take care, you guys.  And be good to your mother."

            "Yep!" Lakia agreed, smiling brightly.  "Auntie Ellie…?"

            "Hmm?"  Elia looked up from Noah, who she had been cuddling.  "You want to call me that, do you?"

            The little girl grinned, her brown eyes sparkling in the sunshine.  Tensing slightly, she poked her oldest brother in the ribs.  "Give it to her," she ordered.

            The young Radley fumbled about in his pocket before pulling out a small, cloth package.  He held it up to his aunt.  "Auntie Ellie…from us!"

            Elia took it, inspecting the small thing.  It was a crimson pouch tied with a yellow ribbon.  She opened it up and a thin, handmade bracelet made of braided purple and silver threads fell out into her palm.

            "I made it and Radley and Finn helped," Lakia announced proudly.  "Noah couldn't help 'cause he was just born and all."

            All the adults laughed at that.  Lakia blinked and looked around at all of them helplessly.

            Elia kissed the girl's forehead.  She looked at Milrina.  "We really have to go now.  But we'll be back."  She waved and entered the rented carriage after Aden and Nylan.  As soon as she had settled in her seat, she pulled away the back curtain and looked out the window.  She waved frantically as the vehicle rattled to a start and pulled away. 

            Finally, they were so far away that Milrina turned around and started heading back into town.  Noah was cradled in the woman's arms, Finn was tied round her back, and Radley and Lakia gripped either sides of her plain brown skirt.  

            "That's one strong lady," commented Aden after Elia turned around and sat on the cushioned seat next to him.

            Elia nodded.  "My sister…  After eight years, she has gone through so much."  She pulled off her cloak and set it in her lap, leaning back into the seat.  "I always planned on having half a dozen children for Link," she said quietly, "but now I see how foolish a goal that is.  I would hate to view Link the way my sister views her husband."

            "Heh, yeah," Aden agreed, lifting up his long legs and placing his big feet next to Nylan on the bench across from him.  His legs were still folded in half even when he did that.  "You headed to Diola after Link, while your sister came to get _away_ from her husband."  There was a slightly bitter tinge to his voice when he spoke of Link, Elia noted.

            The other two laughed slightly at that, but then all three were quiet for a while.

            Elia finally spoke, but on a different subject.  "Nylan, will Xua not grow impatient?  I mean, we _are_ weeks late."

            Nylan kept his eyes on the mountains outside the window.  "Nay, child.  Xua and I decided on a meeting spot, but no time.  I am not completely sure he will even be there when we arrive, although it is quite likely."

            Elia wondered what else Xua had to take care of.  There was a lot of suspicion surrounding Xua, now.  She wanted to ask about it, but she didn't know if Nylan would want to tell her anything.  He often kept her fuzzy on details, remaining true to his father-like role in Elia's life.

             "It was important to stay with your sister," Aden said in an attempt to be helpful.  "With that little runt and all."

            "Do not call him a runt," Elia said in a half angry, half teasing manner.  She thought of the little Noah.

            "Indeed.  Baxt and Bward were smaller than he was, and they are both plenty big now."  Nylan seemed dreamy for a moment, thinking of his family.

            "I cannot wait to see them again," Elia said.  "Nylan, how was everyone?"

            "Pretty well, pretty well.  Mvon, though…"

            "Mvon?"  Elia's fingers went to the choker around her neck.  "What is the matter with her?"

            Nylan shook his head.  "She is fine.  Just…  Well, you will see her soon enough."

            He refused to say anymore, so Elia sat in thoughtful silence.  She looked at her ring, her necklace, and her new bracelet.  She was separated from everyone who had given her these gifts.  All of them had been gifts of parting, a kind of 'till we meet again' thing.  Elia closed her eyes and thought of the people she cared for.  Many of them were not with her now.  _But I have you here_, the woman thought, putting her hand on her chest.  _I have you in my heart.  Please remember me, everyone.  I miss you…_

            The next day, they were out of the carriage and, instead, traveling by foot.  Elia had few belongings, only a few dresses tucked away in a satchel she bore.  The rest had been left behind at the Temple.  She hoped for these to be picked up at a later date.

            Both her companions were traveling light as well.  They each had only a bag on their shoulders, and kept a swift pace.  Elia, with her short legs, struggled to keep up as they walked over the rolling, grassy foothills in the morning mist.

            It was quite beautiful, although Elia vividly remembered the last time there had been fog.  At least these earthbound clouds seemed extremely natural.  Still, as Nylan was doing, Elia scanned the landscape for any suspicious activity.

            The journey took a lot longer than Elia had expected.  On the hand drawn map, it had taken a second—a second and a half, maybe—for Nylan to move his finger from Pwyre to Xua's location.  In reality, it took a day in a carriage and a week and a half on foot.

            They walked in mostly silence.  Nylan was always busy checking his compass and examining the horizon for any possible oddities.  Elia tried not to bother him, so she said nothing and kept a few steps behind him.

            Elia often would look up to see Aden jerking his head away.  She thought about what her sister had said.  Was Aden in love with her?  _Nonsense.  It is too silly, too impossible.  Besides, Aden is my friend._

            And then at last they reached the woods around the river.  It was a thin stretch of woods, but a long one.  They seemed to trace the tributary's route north to south for as long as Elia could see.  Each tree was a mountain compared to the plains the three travelers had been walking on.  Elia was quite glad for a change of scenery after seeing only grass beneath her toes.

            "How'll we find him?" Aden whispered to Elia.

            "It seems he has already found us," she replied, watching a lone figure appear from the woods. 

            As he got closer, she could make out shimmering eyes on a head decorated by two thick, swinging blond braids.  The young man, a serious glare in his expression, was wearing a loose brown tunic and green pants.  Camouflage?

            "Ah, brother," Nylan greeted, leading the other two towards the newcomer.

            Xua appeared quite tired upon closer inspection.  Elia prayed frantically that this would all be explained to her—and quickly.

            "Elia," Xua said, nodding to the woman.

            "Xua."  Elia suddenly remembered about Mvon, and everything he had done to her.  She remembered Nylan mentioning that Mvon wasn't in good shape.  She could barely restrain herself from frowning.  "You are looking…well."

            "Not really," he said, shaking a leaf from his hair.  "I have been hiding in these woods for the better part of a month."

            They all started heading back toward the river.  They came to a secluded area in which the remains of a fire smoldered, surrounded by a ring of rocks.  Xua plucked up a bag and ushered them on, going farther into the woods.  

            As they walked, Elia looked at the ground.  She saw several of what looked like sketches drawn in the soil.  Perhaps they were maps of the area.  It was hard to tell; they had been crossed out and trodden on.

            They came to the river.  It was a lot less wide than the part of the _Chanta_ Elia had been on before.  Still, she could not see the bottom of the gushing water.  Perhaps it was not as wide, but it was moving quite fast.

            Elia happened to look over at Aden.  She was amazed to see him looking absolutely terrified.  He was backing away from the water, his whole gigantic body trembling.  He closed his eyes and whipped his head back and forth.

            Elia put her hand on his shaking arm.  "Aden, what is the matter?  Are you all right?"

            "Th-The w-water…" was all he got out.  Suddenly, his whole body ascended a few inches before it was condensed into a small, quivering mass on the ground, teetering from side to side in a strange sort of rhythm.

            "What's wrong with him?" cried Elia to Nylan and Xua.

            "He is a Goron; he is probably afraid of water, as most Gorons are.  The fellow is rock, after all," Xua informed her in a rather know-it-all sort of way.

            Elia knelt down next to Aden, glaring up at Xua.  "You _could_ phrase things a tad more nicely, you know."

            Xua sighed.  "No sense in arguing with me, Elia."

            Elia jumped back up.  "Just be a bit nicer, Xua!  Would it kill you?"

            "You are so immature!" growled Xua.  "There are bigger things going on than your childish need for vengeance!  Pay attention to the rest of the world for once!  Grow up!"

            "I am not a child!" Elia screamed before running back in the opposite direction.  She threw her body behind a bush and started to cry.  _I hate you, Xua_, she thought as hard as she could, hoping her thoughts reached him.  _You are the most awful man!_  She slammed an angry fist against the bark.  As her hand throbbed in pain, Elia sobbed.

            "Miss Elia!  Miss Elia!"

            Elia wiped her eyes and sat up against a nearby tree.  "Aden?" she asked cautiously.

            "Miss Elia!" he exclaimed, running to her.  He looked a lot better now, perhaps because he was away from the water.  "Are you all right?"

            "I hate Xua," she proclaimed.

            Aden scratched the back of his head, as he always did.  "Actually, I kind of…hit him."

            "You did _what_?"

            "I heard him yell at you and, er, so I…I got kinda angry and all.  So I…kinda hit him."

            Elia reached up and used Aden's extended arm to help her stand.  "In this short time…?  All that happened?"

            He shrugged.  "I'm kinda ashamed to go back now, actually.  It happened real fast, you see.  You ran off and then I jumped up and hit him and came after you.  All in, like, a minute."

            She shook herself free of ground debris.  "I apologize."

            "What?"  He seemed a bit shocked.  It was strange for his low, rumbling voice to be raised when the man was alarmed.  Elia couldn't help but giggle.  Aden blushed and said, "What're you laughin' at, Miss Elia?"

            Elia took his big arm gently in her small one and started back toward the river.  "Nothing.  But I thank you for defending me."

            "It was only right!" he declared, his voice full of vivid emotion.

            "I guess it was," said a slightly strange-voiced Xua.  He had his hand up to his cheek, and there was an orb of soft green light emerging from it.  Elia saw what looked like the beginnings of a big bruise beneath the light.

            Suppressing a giggle, the young woman said, "I apologize to all of you for my…_irrational_ behavior.  Perhaps you can blame it on my weariness."  Caring little for Xua's reaction, Elia turned to Nylan.  But he was gone.

            "Are you guys going to dwell over there any longer?" called a distant voice.

            Elia looked across the water to see Nylan kneeling on the shore.  His short, muscular arms were outstretched, giving off a deep green light that stretched across the river.  A bridge?

            Xua sighed and crossed the bridge quickly.  The thing didn't falter beneath his weight; it only darkened where his feet touched for as long as they were there.  

            "Let's cross," Elia said, tightening her grip on Aden's arm.

            Aden began to shake.  "M-Miss El-Elia, I w-will d-d-dr-drown!"

            "Nonsense!" Nylan called over to the Goron.  "Just hurry across and you will be perfectly all right.  I cannot keep this up forever."

            "Aden, I will be right behind you.  Just walk across, like Xua just did," Elia urged, getting behind the man and giving him a little push.  "Just—go—like—this!"  She pushed him a little harder until he was standing at the edge.

            Aden looked over his broad, rocky shoulder at her.  "Are you _totally_ sure that it's safe?"

            Elia gave a firm nod.  "Aden, please.  For me?"  She cocked her head and smiled up at the Goron sweetly.

            Aden blushed at her and sauntered across almost as soon as she said it.  Elia regretted using such a trick on her friend, but she had been growing impatient.  The woman picked up her deep blue skirts and carefully stepped over the water.  The sensation was eerie.  She could see beneath her a green-tinted river through the shimmering bridge.  It was as if the woman was standing on something and was standing on nothing at the same time.

            Nylan sighed in relief and lifted his hands, breaking the spell.  The bridge dissolved into flying sparkles of emerald mist, which melted into the air.  Nylan himself took a minute to stand.  Elia cringed to see him suffer with getting up.  He wasn't that old, and didn't look it—but the man had still been through a great many ordeals.  That much was obvious.

            And so the four of them walked along, heading north.  Xua stayed as far away from Aden as he could, always eyeing the Goron wearily.  When they all stopped to make camp, Xua went up into a tree and 'kept watch'.  Really, Elia thought he just didn't want to get slugged again by an angry man made of rock.

            Elia was quite happy to sit around the fire between Aden and Nylan.  She felt close to them after traveling with the two from Pwyre.  And now that they were within the cover of the woods, the two seemed more talkative.

            When Aden went off to find some more firewood, Elia talked to Nylan quietly.  "Nylan," she began, "why are we so relaxed in the woods?  Were we not attacked in the woods by those strangers in black before?"

            Nylan turned to her.  "These woods down here are free from those scoundrels, child.  Xua and I have been concentrating on feeling for the presence of such…undesirable companions.  And I sense nothing, child."  He smiled tiredly at her before looking back at the fire and poking it with a stick.

            Xua, who had heard their conversation, called down from his perch, "And we have magic barriers in place."  His expression turned even more unpleasant, if it were possible.  "Those demons will not catch _me_ off guard another time."

             "Did you see them again?" Elia asked, directing her question to Nylan.  Xua could not make light of her anymore.  Not if Aden was around.  It gave her an added sense of comfort and triumph.

            "No, but I still fear this peace will be short-lived," Nylan admitted.  "They want something, and I have never, ever known a Second Tribesman to stop after one attempt.  They will be back, and we will have to be ready."

            Elia could feel her heart beat faster and faster as she lay awake next to the slumbering Wonara.  It was almost time.  Almost time.  Almost time to see Link.

            They had finally reached the camp late that day.  There were two tents there.  One was that of Nylan; the other belonged to Mvon's friend from before.  Elia had been eager to see Mvon, but hadn't had the opportunity yet.

            Wonara, who was looking overjoyed to finally be with her husband again, made up a dinner for the newcomers.  By the time they had all finished eating, it was very late and all were tired.  They climbed onto their sleeping mats and drifted into dreamland.

            All save Elia.

            She had been unable to even close her eyes.  On the way to the camp, she had dared to glimpse south.  Not too terribly far away, just across a plain of dense, swaying grass, was a tower.  A tower.  A tower, where Link could be.  A tower made of stone with a rounded roof.  A tower.  A tower where Link could be.

            And so that is why the woman's heart was racing, why she was unable to sleep.  Her lover could be slumbering just a mile away.  The time they had been apart was approaching six years.  It didn't have to be any more than that.

            "We shall go tomorrow," Nylan had told her tiredly when Elia had pulled on his sleeve and begged to go to the tower now.

            "At dawn?" Elia had pressed.

            "We do not have to go _that_ early," the man had said, looking at her oddly.  "I know you are eager, but I am weary of traveling so much."

            "So I will go alone!" Elia had cried.

            "No," Nylan had replied, in a firmer tone than he normally used.  "I will go with you, and we shall not go until after dinner.  Have you not missed everyone here?"

            And Elia had been forced to agree.  She thought now about this a little more and found herself saddened.  Finding Link marked the end of her journey.  Although some parts had been hard, the woman had encountered wonderful things on her trek.  She had made new friends, been reunited with her sister—things she never dreamed would happen.

            _I will soon leave Diola, but I can still see everyone again.  There is no good reason I can think of why I should not_.  But, as hard as Elia thought this, there was something in the back of her mind rejecting this idea of 'happily ever after.'  She pushed this thought away.

            Elia kissed her ring and made another concerted effort to go to sleep.

            "Wonara?" Elia asked of the woman, who was busily stacking the fire outside with freshly collected wood.  

            "Yes?"  Wonara smiled, as she had been ever since Elia came.  Her smile was so nice and warm, so motherly.  Elia loved it.

            "I have not seen Mvon yet.  Is she even here?"

            Wonara stopped smiling and sighed.  "She is.  But she hides while Xua is around."

            "I want to see her," Elia said, throwing another stick into the circle of stones.

            Wonara leaned over the fire.  Her hands glowed red for a second, and then the wood began to smolder contentedly.  She wiped her fingers on the robe she wore.  Elia had noticed that, since warmer weather arrived, Nylan, Xua, Wonara, and the others had started wearing strange robes of varying colors.  Some were brown and others lighter to darker green.

            "Wonara?" Elia prompted after a few moments with no response.

            "Elia, dear…  Mvon is…"  Wonara shook her head.  "You will have to go see her yourself.  Just be prepared."

            Elia nodded slowly.  "Where is she?"

            "She is probably in her friend's tent.  She was getting along fine until we spotted you all coming last night.  Then she ran in and hid."  Wonara gestured loosely with one hand as the other was busy stirring the stew that would be the late afternoon meal.  "Tell her she should come out, would you?"

            Elia wondered what could be so terribly wrong as she wandered over to the small tent.  She simply went inside; there really wasn't any way to knock.  "Mvon?"

            There wasn't a response, but with the sunlight streaming in through the cream fabric of the tent, Elia could make out a figure sitting on one side.  The hair was red.  It had to be Mvon.

            "Mvon," Elia said again, coming closer this time.  "It's me, Mvon.  Elia."

            "Elia?"  The voice was that of a female, but it sounded somehow low and dark.

            "Mvon, what is the matter?"  Elia knelt down and kind of scooted closer to her friend.  "Mvon, I came back safely, with the choker."  She reached around her neck and undid the metal clip.  The woman held the token out for her friend to take.

            Mvon held up a hand, but it was limp.  She fingered the choker before letting her arm drop weakly to the ground.

            And then Elia saw.  She had been pretty sure of it all along, but now she was certain.  Mvon's outline in the growing light revealed that she was hiding from Xua for a reason.  

            "Mvon, you are—" Elia began.

            Mvon turned her head away quickly.  "I am spoiled!  I am filthy!" she cried.

            "Spoiled?  What?  Mvon, no—"

            Suddenly, Mvon's arm shot out and she grabbed Elia's hand, forcing it to her swollen belly.  "Feel this, Elia!  I am spoiled, a dirty woman…"  Her words quickly melted into tears, and she released Elia.

            Elia was quiet for a moment.  "Mvon," she said finally, "you were always so quiet before.  Now you are yelling and everything."  She forced a smile.  "You have become more…vibrant."

            "Please, Elia…  Please do not make this into a joke.  I see no humor in it."

            Elia bit her lip.  "I am not making fun of you, Mvon.  Just…sometimes a joke can help things along."  She sighed to herself.  _Obviously, this was not one of these times._

            Mvon wiped her eyes.  "Xua cannot know.  I am sure he does, but I have worked hard to block my life force from him."

            And, with the mention of his name, Elia remembered.  Xua was the one who had turned the sweet, shy Mvon into this strange, frantic hermit.  Xua…

            Mvon spoke again.  "For six months I have carried Xua's baby, Elia.  Half a year's time…  In not too long, I will have a baby—_his_ baby, Elia!  What am I to do?"

            Elia put a hand on the redhead's shoulder.  "I cannot condone Xua's actions," she said firmly.  "In fact, I absolutely hate him for everything he has done to you."

            Mvon looked up at her.  She threw her arms about Elia's neck and hugged her closely.  "Oh, Elia, you are so wonderful.  Even Wonara lectured me about the evils of what _I_ have done.  But you are on my side."

            "I believe it was Xua's fault and not yours.  Besides," Elia said, running a comforting hand through Mvon's red locks, "you are my friend.  I do not see any use in making you feel any worse than you already do."

            Mvon smiled at her.  "Really, I have been getting along all right.  I just want Xua far away from me.  He has already done enough."  She put a shaking hand on her belly.  "I already love this child that grows within me.  What will I do when it is born?"

            Elia shrugged.  "You needn't decide that now.  I am sure that Wonara can help you."

            "Wonara, as kind and loving a cousin as she may be…  As the mother I never had, she is disappointed by my irresponsible decision."  

            "Then, perhaps, you could go see my sister.  She is in Pwyre now.  She just had a baby, too.  She has four children altogether, you know, and she is open-minded and kind.  I know next to nothing about childrearing, but she is an expert."

            Mvon cuddled her belly.  "I thought about giving him up, but I know now I could never give away something born from me."  She teetered back and forth, as though she were cradling a baby in her arms as she sat in a rocking chair.  "Xua…  You will not tell him, will you?"

            "Of course not!  You are my friend and he is my enemy," Elia promised strongly.

            "Oh, please do not say that, Elia," Mvon said quietly, looking away.  "Even after everything…"  She swallowed.  "I still love Xua."

            Elia opened her mouth to say something, but no sound came out.  She decided to give Mvon a big hug instead.  "Mvon, take the choker," she said, pressing it into the other woman's hand.  "I am going to go bring Link back now."

            Mvon took the necklace.  "Go, then," she said, her voice sounding a lot happier and confident than before.  She smiled—really, truly smiled.  "Good luck, Elia.  I will see you later, when your dream has come true."

            Elia grinned back at her friend.  "Do not lose hope, Mvon.  I will return and we will be together.  Everyone will."  She kept watching her friend as she headed backwards out of the tent.

            Elia was momentarily blinded by the sunlight, and so she consequently fell backwards over a rock.  Ironically, it was into a man made of rock she was caught by.

            "You okay, Miss Elia?"

            Elia, with Aden's help, managed to get standing upright again.  She turned around and thanked the Goron profusely.  "I am sorry for that," she said as the two started to head to wash up for lunch.

            Aden was fearful of the water, so Elia took the towel he had brought and dunked it in the river.  She threw it to him as she put her own head right in the shallowest bit, tasting the sweet, clear water.  It was cool and it refreshed her.

            She removed her shoes and stepped into the _Chanta_.  Just before the bottom of her plain brown skirt touched the surface, she snatched it up, along with her cream underskirt.

            Aden, at a safe distance from the water, watched her peacefully.  He smiled to see her bunch up her long, wavy brown locks into a bun so that she could easily wash her neck, and then scream when her skirts dropped to get soaked.  It was an enjoyment to observe Elia wring out the cloth and then wade back in, looking half amused and half perturbed.

            "Your hair looks real pretty when it's up," Aden told her shyly, just as the hair fell from the woman's unsecured bun.

            Elia didn't meet his gaze, and instead concentrated on wiping her feet dry on the grass.  "Thank you," she replied quietly, slipping back into her leather shoes.  She took one of her arms and used the loose sleeve on it to wipe her face and neck dry.  "Shall we go?"

            As they arrived back at the camp and sat down on one of the logs around the fire, Aden said, "Hey, you're going after Link today, right?"

            Elia blushed and said, "Right after lunch."  She reached out and took a bowl from Wonara gratefully.

            "Oh," the Goron man said, taking his own.  He dug a spoon in and started eating, staring at the food.  "I'm…happy for you."

            "Aden, I have been thinking the same thing, you know."  She tried to put as much cheer in her voice as possible.  "I mean, how now my journey is at its end.  But really, it is not.  I can still spend time with you and everyone else, right?"

            "I suppose," he mumbled, staring at his dull reflection in the now empty ceramic bowl.  

            "I heard that Gorons only ate rocks," Wonara commented, trying to make conversation from beside the big man.  

            Aden looked at her and managed a weak smile.  "Nah, that's just what we're stuck with most of the time up on Death Mountain.  Some Gorons won't touch anythin' else, but I dunno.  I'm not too fond of rocks every single day.  Since I've been in Diola, though, I've gotten to eat lots of good cookin'.  'Specially yours, ma'am."

            Wonara acted incredibly flattered.  She might have truly been, too.  "May I help you get another bowl?"

            "Yeah."  He handed it to her.

            Elia wiped her face as soon as she was done eating.  She waited for Nylan to finish, and then stood.  "Nylan, may we go now?"

            He nodded.  "I guess it is time."

            Elia's heart skipped a beat.  "Alright!  Time to go!"  She ran around the circle of logs and stood by him.

            They started walking, and the twins followed them out.  "Good luck!" they called together, sounding especially adorable.

            Elia smiled at everyone, even though everyone did not smile back at her.  "Goodbye everyone!  See you soon!"  She waved her hand as she went after Nylan, who was walking across the plain already.

            Nylan adjusted one of his thick blond braids so that he could better observe their surroundings with his deep green eyes.  "Elia, slow down for an old man, would you?" he asked after a bit.

            Elia realized that she had practically been running and did as her companion requested.  "Forgive me, but I am just too excited!"   She began to fiddle with the leather belt that fastened her loose cream tunic on top of her heavy blue skirt.  "Nylan, do you think I look all right?"

            "Perhaps you look too eager," he joked.

            "Honestly!" muttered Elia, but she secretly beamed.  "I fear I cannot stop it, though, Nylan; my heart is racing, it feels as though it is soaring as high as a bird!"  She extended her arms as though she were a bird and ran a few paces before turning and running back.

            Nylan merely nodded and said nothing.  And so they walked in silence for a while as the stone tower grew nearer and nearer.  The details of the structure became clearer, too.  It looked like a rather run down sort of tower, with vines encircling the spire up to the top.  The roof was sloped and round, but it came to a distinct point at the very top, on which was perched a metal arrow.

            Elia's eyes wandered for a moment and she glimpsed a village not too far away, just another mile or two east.  But her eyes were drawn back to the tower, as she searched the few windows for signs of her love.

            They came to the base of the thing.  Nylan had her step back and he opened the huge wooden door slowly, tensing as it creaked and groaned.  But the door slid open.

            Elia grabbed Nylan's sleeve and pulled him inside.  They both craned their necks to spy upward.  A spiral staircase circled up the whole interior wide building, leading to the very top.  

            _He is up there_, Elia thought breathlessly.  _Are you waiting for me, Link?  Are you tied up somewhere up there?  Is there a monster guarding you?  Or are you just trapped, waiting for me to unlock a witch's spell…?_

            "Elia, are you even awake?"

            Elia blinked.  "Oh, sorry, Nylan.  I was just busy thinking."

            "We are here, child.  Although I admit I am not happy to charge up ten flights of stairs."  Nylan shook his head.  "Let us go."

            "Nylan, let me run, please," begged Elia.  "You could sense if there were a spell or a monster, right?  Do you sense anything?"

            He stopped for a moment.  "No, no I do not.  But Elia—"

            "Then I will go!" she cried, her feet already flying on the first set of stone stairs.  "I cannot bear to wait a second longer!"

            "Elia, it still could be dangerous!  Wait!" cried Nylan after her.  "Elia!  Elia!"

            But she couldn't listen, wouldn'tlisten.  The young woman, her breath absent and her heartbeat rare, leapt up each story.  Climbing and climbing, she truly flew.  She knew he was here, could feel he was here.  

            And so, some undetermined, unimportant amount of time later, Elia reached the door at the top of the steps.  She was out of breath but she could not care less.  The door, an old wooden one, she pushed open with all her might.  It flew into the room and slammed against the wall, the sound reverberating in the hollow tube that was that tower.

            The sound had alarmed the man who stood inside.  Illuminated clearly by the early evening sunlight was the man.  He was a handsome man, not overwhelming tall but by no means short.  He had clear blue eyes that looked like a pair of deep lakes, and fair skin.  His hair, an orange-blond color, was a bit shaggy, but, nonetheless, the man looked fairly clean-shaven.  He had long pointed Hylian ears, each bearing small hoop earrings.

            "Link!" Elia cried loudly, her voice filled with pure happiness.  She ran from the doorway right across the room and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly.  She buried her face in his chest, about ready to cry.  _He even smells just as I remember him to!_

            Strangely, the man gently peeled her off of him.

            "Link?" Elia asked, puzzled, looking up into his eyes.

            "Excuse me, miss," Link said politely, "but may I ask who you might be?"

^-^-^-^


	15. A Sorrowful Reunion

^-^-^-^

            Elia blinked her big brown eyes.

            Link looked at her oddly before returning to the wooden desk he had been working on.  On the thing were perched several glass jars of unique shapes bubbling over with bright liquids.  Link stirred them now.

            Elia licked her lips.  "Link, it is _me_," she said, trying not to have her voice waver too much.  "_Elia_.  Come now, I can't have changed so much."

            "Elia?" he asked, pronouncing it very strangely, like he had never spoken the word before.  He adjusted the blue sorcerer's robe he wore.  "I am sorry," Link said finally.  "I believe you must have me mistaken for someone else, Miss…Elia, was it?"

            "Link, what is going on?"  Elia was close to trembling now.  "You have not…have not…forgotten me, have you?"

            "Forgotten what?"  He seemed more interested in stirring the liquid in the little bottles, watching them bubble and fizz.  He shook his head, his short, blond-orange hair bouncing off his long ears just as Elia remembered it always had.

            "About everything, Link.  About you rescuing me in Kakariko Village Graveyard—about you staying with me all winter!  About the snowball fight and the bathtub and the talks by the fireplace!"

            "Kak…Kakariko?"  He thought for a moment.  "Is that in Hyrule?  I think I might read somewhere about it.  At the base of…Death Mountain, correct?"

            "What are you saying?  Link, you are _from_ Hyrule.  You are the Hero of Time!"

            "Oh, yes; I believe I have read of him too.  Interesting fellow."

            She grabbed onto his sleeves.  "Link, why can't you remember?  Five years ago…was it too long?  You were my hero!  You came and saved me!  We fell in love!"

            The man sighed and pulled her off again, a bit more forcefully this time.  "Look, miss, I am flattered that you believe me such a great man.  But I have never even seen you before.  And I am quite sure that I have never, ever been in love with you—"

            "Bastard!" Elia cried just as the loud sound from her slap on his cheek whipped through the air.  She ran for the door, tears flying out freely.  She stopped just before she was out of the room and struggled to pull off her ring.  Elia spun and heaved it at the man with as much force as she could muster.  "_I hate you!_" she screamed as loudly as she could, rushing out.  She ran into something.

            "Elia, child?  What is this?" Nylan said, trying to hold onto her.

            Elia could only look at him with tear-stained eyes and pull past him, nearly falling down the stairs but not caring.  She had to free herself from this nightmare.

            Across the field.  Back to the river.  _Perhaps, _Elia thought wildly, _I shall drown myself.  It doesn't sound like such a bad idea, not really.  Then I can go to heaven and be with Link, the way I wished him to be…_

            It was getting darker; the sun was setting.  She ran through the tall grasses.  Her dress snagged on some spiky plants and tore, but it didn't really matter.  No outward ripping and tearing could compare to the inner shattering of the girl's heart.  He didn't love her.

            _Link, after I believed in you!  I kept pressing on always.  I urged everyone else on with my faith in you and me.  When things got tough, I found strength by thinking about how things would be better soon when I was with you.  I told everyone that life would improve, once I found you.  I abandoned Dain, my only friend, for you!  I dragged Nylan and everyone out here so that I could be with you!_

            And then another though occurred to her.  What if she had just dreamt everything up?  _Link…did we really have what I remember we did?  Did you ever meet me— did we ever fall in love?  I have imagined so much in these past years…did I imagine our relationship too?  Was there even a Hero of Time?  Maybe I made it all up…  Maybe I did get raped in Kakariko those years ago, maybe I did forget how to live.  Did I give up on everything?  When I saw you in Reverie, I did not want you to tell me if you were real or not.  Maybe because I knew…  Maybe because I knew in my heart that you were not!_

            She neared the camp and was happy to see no one about.  It was chilly at night, so Wonara cooked inside the tent.  Elia could make out the outlines of her friends in the big tent.  _Goodbye_, she called to them in her thoughts.

            Her legs were tiring.  Elia saw the river just through the swampy area that surrounded it.  Despite her fatigue, the woman sped up and leapt into the deep water.  _Goodbye, everyone.  Forgive me…_

            She passed out in the frigid depths, floating towards the darkened bottom.

            It was cold, very cold.  

            Elia opened her eyes the tiniest amount possible.  The place was filled with a warm light.  _This is it, _she told herself, _I have died.  But…why am I so cold?  Perhaps I…  Perhaps I am not quite dead yet…_

            But then he came, she saw him.  The woman opened her eyes wider and saw she was surrounded by a soft green glow.  And Link was floating to her in some sort of white abyss.  "Heaven," she murmured, reaching out for him.

            Link continued drifting toward her.  He was in his old green clothes, complete with the Kokiri cap over his hair.  "Elia, welcome home."

            Elia smiled and embraced him.  They floated together, clutching on to one another.  "Link, I am so happy.  Can we be together like this forever?"

            "Forever," he murmured, hugging her tightly.  "You are home."

            Elia put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.  _Forever_, she thought.  _Forever and ever…with him.  I do not care about anything else._

            But wait.  Link never said anything like 'welcome home'.  It was too sappy, not his style.

            "Link?" Elia asked, leaning a bit away from him and looking into his eyes.

            "Yes?" he murmured into her neck before kissing it.

            Elia's heart skipped a beat.  She felt her temperature rise.  It took a minute for her to regain herself.  "Um, Link…  I was just wondering what you would do if we suddenly got attacked here?"

            "Hmm?" was his reply as he kept kissing her shoulder.  "That would not happen."

            "Just answer the question for me, please," she insisted.  "For me."

            "All right," he agreed.  "If we were attacked here…  What would you want me to do?"

            "I would like it if you would run away so you wouldn't get hurt," she said honestly.

            He hardly paused from his kissing to answer, "Then that is what I would do, my love."

            Elia bit her lip.  "Then you aren't him," she said through tears that started to flow freely down her cheeks.  "You aren't Link!"

            And the scene disappeared, just like that.  Elia saw that she was indeed surrounded by a soft green glow, but it was a spell coming from both Xua's and Nylan's hands and nothing else.  She was on a sleeping mat and under many blankets inside the big tent of Nylan and Wonara.  Around her stood everyone—even Mvon.

            "She's awake!" breathed Aden, who was closest to the woman.  "You're awake!"  He looked as though he might cry.

            "Thank goodness!" Wonara and Mvon said at nearly the exact same moment.

            "Yay!" the twins chanted together.

            Elia smiled weakly and closed her eyes.  _I am not sure that I want to be alive…_

            "Elia?" Nylan asked, startled.  "Do not go back to sleep now."

            Elia sighed.  "I am so cold, though…  And tired."

            "You sank to the bottom of the river—of course you are!" Xua remarked.  "And a _Goron_ rescued you."

            This Elia had to open her eyes for.  "Aden," she said, her voice frail, "you saved me?"

            "That he did," Nylan said.  "I was awfully surprised to see the Goron jump in.  But he crawled back out with you in his arms just moments later."

            Elia smiled up at Aden.  "You conquered your fear of the water, then?"

            Aden scratched the back of his head.  "Nah; I wasn't even thinkin' 'bout it, really.  I'm kinda freaked to think about me actually bein' at the bottom of a river."

            "So you will be all right, Elia?" Mvon asked. 

            "I think so," she replied in as strong a voice as she could.  "I think I want to rest for a while, if that would be all right."

            Xua and Nylan finished casting their healing spell.

            "I am going to make dinner then," Wonara announced.  She went over to Elia briefly and patted the girl's forehead.  "You just rest."

            "I'll go get some firewood," Aden said, rising.  He looked at Elia, blushing.  "I'm mighty glad you're okay, Miss Elia."

            Nylan sat by her next.  "We shall talk later, child."

            The twins came and hugged her after that.

            "Do your best!" Baxt said.

            "You can do it!" Bward cheered.

            Xua nodded to her and left without a word.

            Mvon knelt by Elia's side.  "Elia, what happened?"

            Elia tried to smile, and did a little.  But she started sobbing at the same time.  "He…he doesn't remember me," she explained simply.  She could sense Mvon already beginning to ask more.  "Please, leave me alone."

            Mvon complied and did not say anything else.  Elia turned and faced the wall of the tent, pulling the blankets tightly around her shivering body.  She heard everyone talking in hushed tones, and she was quite sure that she was the subject.  But it didn't matter.

            "I wish I had died," she whispered to the pillow, burying her face into it.  _Why did you have to save me, Aden?  Everything would have been better off if I had died.  No one would have to worry about me anymore, and I would not have to feel this pain…the pain of a broken heart…_

            A while later, she was pulled from her teary half-slumber by Baxt.  "I have your dinner for you," he said meekly.

            Elia struggled to sit up and accepted the platter of bread, vegetables, and fish.

            "Bward and I caught the fish ourselves," Baxt said proudly.  He had a piece of bread in one of his hands, signifying that the boy had mostly finished his meal.  "It is good, even Mvon said so.  And she's always not hungry lately.  She says food makes her feel sick."

            Elia nodded, changing the subject.  "So, how have you been, Baxt?"

            Baxt looked a bit surprised.  "I guess I'm good.  But you're the one everybody's worried about."

            "You should not worry for me," Elia said kindly.  "I will…  I will be all right.  As long as I have good friends like you."  Really, the words were near lies and she was just trying to comfort the boy.

            "You're so nice," Baxt told her with a grin.  "Now eat up your food; it's good."

            Elia complied and began to feast on the meal.  She did not see anyone else in the tent, and asked why.

            "They are talking outside," Baxt said.  "Nobody wanted to bother you."

            Just then, Nylan came in through the entrance.  "Baxt, would you mind leaving me alone with Elia for a while?"

            Baxt frowned slightly, but, as an ever-obedient son, got up and left.  "Bye," he called to the young woman.

            Nylan came over and sat down in nearly the exact place his son had.  He pulled one of the quilts over Elia's shoulder.  "How are you doing?"

            Elia thought for a moment and opened her mouth to say that she was fine.

            "Not so good, I see," the man said before she could speak.  He looked rather solemn, with his face wrinkled by worry and his eyes darkened by stress.  "Elia, why—?"

            "Because I did not want to live a second longer!" she cried, throwing her head between her knees.  Her body started convulsing with sobs.  "Knowing that it was not real…"

            "Are you sure it was not, Elia?"  He put his hand on her back and gently pulled her back up.

            "I just don't know anymore, Nylan.  He…he does not love me anymore.  Perhaps he says he doesn't remember to spare my feelings, but that only hurts worse."  She reached up and frantically wiped her eyes.  "I just hurt so much."  Elia gripped her chest.  "Like he stuck a dagger through my heart."

            "Love can be painful, Elia.  But…I am not quite sure that he just forgot so easily."

            She looked straight at the man.  "What do you mean?"

            "He either made a whole life-altering decision to become some sort of scientist or sorcerer, or something else happened."

            "What do you mean by 'something else'?  Nylan, tell me!"

            He shook his head.  "I wish I could, child, but I do not have anything more.  It is just a feeling I got being in the room with him.  I talked to him for a while, but he just seemed quite bewildered by your abrupt exit.  I think he knows that things are quite right somehow."

            "But the way he talked…how he acted…  It was like he was a completely different person."

            "And maybe he was, child.  Maybe he was."

            They both sat, thinking, for a moment.  Then Nylan said, "I know it breaks your heart, child, but please be strong.  After all, you have come this far already…  You are just going to stop now?"

            Elia shook her head fervently.  "Nylan, maybe I just imagined my love affair with Link.  Maybe it did not happen and it was just a vivid dream.  I do not want to drag all of you deeper into my twisted desires—"

            "Child, child."  Nylan, to Elia's great surprise, smiled.  "You know, if I had thought you were just a silly dreamer, I would not have come with you as far as I have.  Besides, we are now caught up in a struggle bigger than all of us.  There really is not any turning back now."

            "Nylan, I wish you could tell me more.  About everything."

            "So do I, Elia.  But I want you to know something.  Finding Link, what you thought was the end of your journey…  It seems to truly be only the beginning of it."

^-^-^-^


	16. Frightening Interrogation

^-^-^-^

            "I will stay to guard the camp," Xua said.

            Mvon looked at Elia desperately.  "I have to stay.  I want to go with you, but I am too weak."

            They were all—with the exception of Mvon's friend, who had gone hunting—gathered on the southern side of the camp.  It was early morning a few days later, and they had a mission ahead of them.

            "Mvon, you will be all right," Wonara said to her cousin.  "We shan't be gone too long."

            Mvon nodded.  "I will work on the washing."  She bowed and disappeared into the big tent.

            "Let's go!" Bward exclaimed, and so he, his brother, his parents, Aden, and Elia were off.

            "But why are we going to Benzar?" Wonara asked her husband after they'd been walking for a few minutes.  She looked uncomfortable in the plain brown dress she was wearing.

            Nylan replied, "The people there might know something.  Link himself seems fairly determined that he is not a hero or anything like it."

            "Nylan, why do you always dress differently when you go into towns or cities?" Elia questioned.

            "I told you before that most non-Tribesmen hate us, didn't I?" was his reply.  "Not all do, but it is best not to take a chance."

            "Why do they?  It does not make any sense."

            "They foolishly believe that we think ourselves better than them," Nylan said coldly.

            Wonara added, "It is so awful of them.  Just because we use more magic—which they have nearly banned, that foolish government!—and live in tents instead of houses."  She shook her head.  "To them, the Tribes are the lowest class, scoundrels who break laws.  But the 'government' of Diola is so unstable that I wouldn't dare to follow any laws of theirs."

            "Darling, we are going to be going to a village.  You could not discard some of your resentment, I suppose?" Nylan said, looking sorrowfully at his wife.  "I understand your reasons, but…"

            Wonara took her husband's hand and clutched his arm as they walked together.  "I will behave myself, all right?"  She switched subjects.  "Elia, dear, it must be strange to go back to living with us after being in Pwyre for so long, hmm?"

            Elia shrugged.  "I suppose it is different, but I much prefer staying with all of you."  She noticed that Wonara always watched after her worriedly, so she tried to look at least a little happy.  "I wonder what kind of place Benzar is."

            "It is a town of scholars and scientists," Nylan explained.  "They have the biggest library in Diola there with hundreds of tomes."

            "Then hopefully they have a clue about what is going on with Link," Elia said under her breath.  She could not help but look at the tower.  _Link, you are inside there.  You are so close, and yet you are a million miles away from me._

            And so they came to the village.  It was about as big as Kakariko had been, with lots of large buildings.  The place lacked a market square, but there seemed to be one main building with dresses and meats alike hanging in the windows.  The only people visible were those in scholar's dress, scurrying from library to library with scrolls and books piled in their arms.

            "It's so quiet here," Bward commented.

            "That's 'cause all the people are studying and stuff," his brother replied smartly.

            "They're all so busy!  How we gonna ask for information?" Aden asked, speaking for the first time since they left camp.  

            Nylan shrugged.  "I think we should split up.  Wonara, you take the boys and check out the eastern buildings.  Aden, escort Elia please and go west.  I will go alone and investigate the rest.  Just remember to be courteous, everyone."

            Aden nodded.  "C'mon, Miss Elia."  And they started heading for the western part of town.

            "It is so unlike any village I have been to," Elia said, looking about.  "I never had any formal education; I really feel out of place here."

            "Less out of place than me," Aden muttered, scratching his head.  "Hey, were there clouds before?"  He pointed up at the sky.

            "Looks like a storm is moving in all of a sudden," Elia observed.  "We should get inside if we wish to stay dry."  She scanned the buildings and picked out a big one.  Pointing to it, she suggested, "There's probably lots of people in there."

            And so they went.  The big double door was partially open, so they came inside.  They entered a big lobby.  On the floor was a lush red carpet and there were floors of books going around the parameter of the huge room, each level connected by a small, steep staircase.

            There were lots of people in the room, all either reading books at the tables on the lobby floor or on one of the higher levels looking for one.  It was very quiet in the room, save the sound of a few voices floating down from high, high above.

            Elia craned her neck.  She saw a circle on the ceiling—no, it was some sort of circle _hanging_ from the ceiling.  Still looking up, she walked a bit to the side to see that there was a glass dome sticking out into the sky and beneath it a platform with a few agitated individuals and some strange looking instruments.

            "I predicted the storm!" one of them cried, ironically just as rain began crashing down onto the top of the building.  "I said last night, 'A storm will blow in suddenly'!  Did I not?"

            "I predicted it yesterday _afternoon_," another one said.  "I have it written down in my log, right here!"  He waved some sort of pad around in the air.  He waved it so frantically that it flew from his hand and fell right next to Elia's feet.

            Elia picked the thing up cautiously.  "I will bring it up to you!" she called up, but her feminine voice did not carry well.

            "What?" said the man who had dropped it, leaning over the edge.  "Did you say something, girl?"

            Elia almost growled.  The man did not look that old.  Oh well, she _was_ rather short, and there were four stories between the two.

            "Miss Elia?" Aden asked after her as she started for the first ladder.

            "You ask some of the people down here," Elia told him quietly.  "I should return this."  She began to climb the shaking steps, a bit frightened as they wobbled.  Above her, she could still here the scientists on the platform yelling at each other.  

            It took a lot of climbing, but Elia finally reached the uppermost level.  But she was pretty far away from the platform, which was suspended from the ceiling just under the glass dome.  "Excuse me!" she called, trying to politely interrupt their quarrel.  "Excuse me!"

            After several tries, she finally stole their attention.  They looked at her.   Rather stupidly, Elia thought to herself.

            "Um…  How do I get over there?" she wanted to know.

            "Oh.  The girl from before."  The man whose notebook Elia possessed reached up and pressed some sort of button or lever in the dome.  Suddenly, the ceiling tiles parted and a ladder dropped down from inside.

            Elia eyed it suspiciously.  The thing looked a bit unstable—no, make that really unstable.  The scholars had returned to their argument.  She closed her eyes for a second, trying to encourage herself.  All right.  She got down on all fours and started across.

            It swung wildly to the right, and then to the left. And then back and forth and back and forth, going faster and farther with each time.  Elia cried out so high that no one could hear her.  She lunged at the platform, her hand touching it.  Just then, the woman thought she saw a faint green glow.  However, that was of little consequence; a split second later she was plummeting toward the floor.

            Elia reached up with her hand in a vain attempt to stop herself.  All of a sudden, an emerald flash of light shot from her hand and she was teetering on the very edge of the platform.

            "Miss Elia!" howled Aden from below, his voice a growling volcano on the verge of eruption.

            Elia crashed down onto the platform.

            "Well, well!" exclaimed one of the men.  "When you attempted to scamper over here in such a doglike fashion, I was sure you were not magical!  Why did you not just cast a spell right away?"

            The young woman pulled herself up slowly, noting that no one volunteered to assist her.  She sighed and scanned the faces of the four males.  They seemed to range from scholar's Elia's age to one's that were old enough to be her father.

            The scholar's whose notebook Elia had been bringing up plucked the thing off the floor.  He hurriedly flipped through the pages.  "Aha!" he shouted.   His finger glued to some scribbled words, he waved it about for all of them to see.  "Look!  I was right!  I predicted it yesterday afternoon!"

            Elia stood there quietly, wondering when they would be done and perhaps be gentlemanly enough to help her back over.  When she was continually ignored, the girl fingered one of her long chocolate tresses. 

            Her eyes wandered to the other people in the room.  They had stared at her for a while, but now they went back to searching for and through various old tomes.  She sighed.  What was _wrong_ with everyone?  Did they see girls magically teleport from life-threatening situations every day?

            The rain was still thundering down from above, now harder than ever.  Elia heard a bouncing sound and craned her neck to find that little pellets of sleet were attacking the roof.  It was quite dark outside.  _And I thought the weather was improving, too.  I guess spring is not predictable…_

            "Excuse me," Elia said finally, getting quite sick of the men's conversation.  When they didn't seem to hear, she repeated it about louder.  "_Excuse me._"  She kept repeating it at regular intervals.

            Finally, the brown-haired man who had been so frantic about his notebook turned to her, annoyed.  "Oh?  You are still here?"

            Elia almost screamed at him, but she didn't.  At least he spoke to her.  "Well, yes.  I was wondering if I could have some help."

            "What sort of help, girl?"

            She grimaced.  Girl?  She wasn't too far off in age from this guy.  "I need information."

            He cackled, sounding rather malicious.  "This whole village is full of information.  Do you not know how to read or something?"

            "I can read just fine, thank you."__

            "Then what exactly is the problem?"  Now he was staring down at her over the tops of his gold-framed glasses.

            "I doubt it would be in a book," she tried to explain.

            "If it is not important enough to be in a book, then why would I know it?"

            "Please," Elia said forcefully.  "I just want to know if anyone knows about L—I mean…  The man who lives in the tower."

            And the other three men, who had been chatting, fell silent.

            The man that Elia had been talking to said, "I would not know about anything like that!  That man came here and stayed, that is all we know."

            _Then why are you so adamant about it?_ Elia wanted to ask, but she felt it would not be polite.  She sighed.  "Then would you please tell me how to get down from here?"

            _Elia, run!_

            What?

            _Elia…Elia…they're after you!  Run…!_

            "What?  Xua…?"  Elia held her head.  Was she hearing things?  Was Xua's voice…?  Why could she hear him?

            "The girl's gone daft!" said the oldest man.

            One of the other men who hadn't spoken yet turned to him.  "Daft or not, is she not the one, professor?  She even asked about _him_!"

            "Imbecile!" growled the eldest through his yellowing teeth.

            "What?"  Elia felt her heart beating fast.  True, she did have to get out…  But how?

            Now all four of them were closing in on her.  This didn't take long; the platform was probably just three meters across in total.  

            "Get her!" one cried, and, within an instant, Elia felt herself being grabbed by all of them.

            "Aden!" Elia tried to scream, but a hand was soon over her mouth.  A gray cloud swirled about the whole gaggle of them and Elia swiftly departed the conscious world.

            She was being taken somewhere.  She couldn't see; a dark piece of thick cloth was pulled around her, as though the woman was some sort of parcel.  Her feet were getting wet as someone dragged her along.  Was it still raining?  The girl could not hear anything.

            Elia's arms were folded across her cheek, so her ring was within range.  Elia concentrated on her ring for a moment and thought she might have detected a hint of green.  But it could have been her imagination just the same.

            And then she remembered.  _I do not _have_ my ring!  I threw it back at Link when I…when I left!  Then is my hand glowing?_

            The puddles on the ground ceased coming, although Elia's boots were still sopping wet.  Was she inside now?  She could not tell.  She could hardly breathe, the pocket of air a singular oasis from the looming threat of suffocation.  

            Now someone pushed her down until she sat.  The surface her rear was pressed upon was hard, flat, and pretty cold.  Was it stone?  She soon saw it was; the bag or whatever was ripped from her body.  It almost took her tunic with it, but the young woman reached down quickly to retain her modesty.

            She gasped for air.  Even the stale stuff of the small, darkened room tasted a lot better then the recycled gas of the bag.  Once her need for full lungs was taken care of, Elia finally had time to wonder where she was and why she had been dragged there.

            There was nothing in the room except the stone bench and a candle mounted on the wall opposite it.  Everything was made of the same cold, gray stone: the bench, the walls, the ceiling, the floor.  Just the small door to Elia's right, which had just only swung shut, was made of wood.

            Elia shivered.  It was quite cold.  Was she in a basement of some sort?  Or did they purposely make the room so frigid?  She pushed off the bench, hugging herself, and paced back and forth.

            Was that a noise outside?

            Elia went over and pressed her ear against the door.  She always thought that cells had just bars or, at the very least, a window.  But not in this chamber.  Everything was solid, just like the bag had been.  But she could hear…

            "Hey…she….coming?"

            Elia could clearly make out those words.  A woman with a strangely deep but sultry voice…  

            "Possibly…if…thinks…should…"

            This time the speaker had been a man, his voice gravely.

            Elia sensed their presence outside the door.  She stepped back.  Would they come in and take her out?

            "In here?" questioned the woman.

            "Yes," answered the man.

            The footsteps started again as they walked away, their conversation now too distinct for Elia to hear.

            She listened for a while longer, but there were no other sounds.  She went and slumped over the cold, hard seat and thought for a long time.  "Link," she whispered.  "I have a feeling this has to do with you.  I wish I could be free from this prison to investigate more!"

            She went to kiss her ring, but there was only a ring of extremely pale skin there.  Again she remembered throwing Link the ring…  Had he caught it?  Perhaps he had even lost it…  _Link, I know I should not care anymore about the ring…but it is so strange.  Since the time you put it on my finger I never have taken it off.  And now I feel naked without it…  Even though you…even though you do not love me I cannot forget about you.  _

            Rap rap rap!

            Someone pounding on the door?

            Elia wiped her eyes and stood.

            Light flooded in the room as the door swung into it.  The light was not coming from a lantern, but a pure orb of gleaming energy bobbing up and down in the hand of a little girl.

            The girl, who could not have been more than ten or so, was smiling in a very peculiar way.  She had short hair of green, with an outfit of the same color.  Suddenly, she flicked up her outstretched hand and the ball of energy flew to Elia.

            "Come!" said the ball of light in such a high voice that Elia could hardly hear it.

            Elia stared at it stupidly.  The thing had _wings_?

            "A-A fairy?" she stuttered.  She had never seen a fairy before.

            "I _have_ a name—" began the fairy.

            "There's no time for that!" scolded the little girl.  "We have to go!"  She motioned to the gawking woman.  "Come on, now."

            Elia nodded and followed as the fairy flew to catch up with her child mistress.  The barren corridor they were going through was rather narrow.  The walls and floor were not made of stone; they seemed just to be well-packed earth.  A few empty metal lantern holders stuck out from the wall, but it was very bright due to the light of the pixie.

            The green-haired child abruptly turned the corner and started up a large spiral staircase.  After three stories, they were walking in a wide hallway with walls, floors, and ceilings of stone.  It was not long before the girl stopped at a room with a door that even Aden could have fit through easily.  

            The girl stretched up for the metal loop that was the doorknocker, but she could not reach.  Elia smiled at her and said, "I know what it is like to be short."

            The child said nothing and just watched as Elia knocked in her place.

            The door squeaked and creaked to go in a few inches, and then a few more until it was open.

            "Excellent," purred the sultry female voice Elia had heard before.  The woman who owned the voice had scales instead of skin and giant fins flapping off her arms.  Even with her fishlike head and webbed feet, the lady looked extremely attractive.

            _A Zora_, though Elia, noticing that the woman was actually wearing clothes.  Although it was just a tight white dress to keep her modesty, Elia figured it was better than nothing; Zoras usually went unclothed.

            "Don't just sit there and stare at me," the Zora said, annoyed.  "Come in, girl."

            Elia nodded.  "I beg your pardon," she said timidly and came into the small room.  It was a well-lit room coated with velvets and leathers.  On the floor was a cushy red rug and the walls were covered with fine wood.  An open window to the cool night showed Elia that she was on the first floor.

            In the room also was a large man with robes of oranges and reds around his well-fed body.  He was pretty much bald and most of his white hair was in his moustache.  He was lounging in the biggest chair, looking quite content.  Elia thought he might have just eaten a large meal, although he certainly did not need it.

            The little girl marched in and sat on a padded bench closet to the roaring fire in the corner.  Her fairy did a few laps around her head before resting on the child's shoulder.

            The fish woman pulled the door closed behind her and swaggered to a seat between the girl and the old man, leaving Elia only one spot:  the small wooden chair across from the three of them.

            The lady turned to the man.  "What are we supposed to do, Raoru?"

            He shrugged.  "Interrogate her, I suppose."

            "_Interrogate_ a simple village girl?"  The Zora rolled her eyes.  "I have better things to do with my time, old man."

            "Oh, Ruto, grow up a little," said the green-haired girl, who was acting the most mature of the three.  She had her little bare legs hanging over the edge of the bench, crossed daintily and not even swinging them.

            The Zora snorted.  "Look who's talking!" she cried, not bothering to contain her laughter.

            The child went 'humph!' and turned her face away.

            Raoru sighed.  "You two are both being immature, if you ask me."  He rubbed a wrinkled brow and stared straight at Elia.  "Little lady, we are going to have to question you."

            Elia gulped.  These were rather odd people, but they were people with power over her nonetheless.  A precognitive chill of fear ran down her spine.  Her mind was racing.  What did these strangers want with her?  All she had tried to do was find out about Link!

            "What is your name, young woman?" said Raoru, looking down his nose at her.  

            They didn't even know that?  "I am E-Elia, sir," she managed to get out.

            "And where are you from?"

            "I was born on a farm in the Tyrice Province, but I have lived for the past several years in Kakariko Village.  In Hyrule," she added hastily as she felt the eyes of the three on her.

            "Is there any other Kakariko?" scoffed Ruto, whose arms were folded.  "Anyway," she said, turning to Raoru, "I _told_ you she was just a village girl!"

            "I am sorry, but I really cannot control where I grew up," Elia said quietly.

            "Do not talk back to me!" Ruto exclaimed, rising.  "You are just a child compared to the rest of us, you know.  Now just sit there and answer our questions!"

            "I was not trying to talk back.  Really.  I beg your pardon, miss," Elia replied in as polite a way as she could.

            "Then just keep your mouth _shut_, girl!  Until _we_ ask _you_ another question!"  Ruto was looming over Elia now, yelling and thrashing her finned arms about.  She finally plummeted back into her seat.

            Elia fought to hide her trembling.

            Ruto grinned.  "Well, girl, if you were so comfortable in Kakariko, why venture out into this God-forsaken country?"

            _You already know the answer_, Elia said to Ruto in her head.  _There's no use; I cannot lie to them.  If they already know the answer, then I shall be truthful._  She took a deep breath.  "I came looking for Link."

            The Zora looked even more satisfied.

            Elia looked down at her hands.

            "How foolish of you!"

            Elia knew a comment like that would come from Ruto.  But she looked up to see that it was the green-haired child who had spoken.

            The child got off her chair and pranced to Elia, smirking up at the woman.

            Elia tensed; there was a huge dose of maliciousness in the girl's attitude.

            And the little girl grinned.  "How foolish of you," she repeated nastily, started to walk in the space between Elia and Raoru.  Her fairy bobbing along a few inches behind, she continued, "To continue along like you have, blindly following your _hero_—a man who doesn't even remember you!"  She threw back her small, green-haired head and laughed.  "Ruto is right for once, girl.  You should have stayed back home in your little village.  Why could not such a simple child be content with the way things were?"

            Elia felt herself gasping for air, for it was hard to breath during such a scene.  The little girl appeared to be possessed by the devil.  The brunette could say anything.  As the child neared, she screamed and tried to get out of the chair.  Her chestnut locks caught on the bars of the wooden chair, sending her whole body flying over it.

            "Get away from me!" Elia cried out frantically.

            Ruto spoke with a huge wicked grin covering her fish face.  "How dare you oppose someone who has done so much!  Go back and forget about Link, little girl.  He does not care for you anymore."  And she laughed too.

            Elia closed her eyes and wriggled about, but she was caught.  _I have to get out of here!_

            And her whole body was warm with a green light.  She was disappearing!

^-^-^-^


	17. New Faces

^-^-^-^

            "Stop her!" screamed Ruto.

            She didn't have to worry.

            Elia began to fade away, and then she faded right back into existence before the three.

            Raoru reached out with his hands and shot out a web of golden light—binding Elia in ropes made of magic.  He levitated her over to the chair.

            Elia quivered, her whole body shaking.

            "Just what in the name of all that is holy is going on here?" a female voice cried from the doorway.

            Elia looked through her bindings.  Nabooru?

            _Of course_, she thought.  _I remember now.  Ruto, Raoru, Nabooru…  All of them are…Sages!  But then why?  Why are they attacking me?_

            Nabooru strutted in further.  "Interrogations not preceding well?"

            Ruto snorted.  "The wench almost teleported away!"

            "But she is not supposed to be magic!" Nabooru exclaimed, coming over to Elia's side.  She looked with her narrow Gerudo eyes over the trembling prisoner.

            "I do not know.  She does not have any magical talisman either."

            "Now that we have tied her up, what's next?  Throwing her out the window?" Raoru said.  Elia noted with fear that there was no sarcasm in his voice.  Were they all just sick jokers, or were they actually serious?

            "The hell is wrong with all of you?" snorted Ruto.  "Standing around like this—just looking at her!  This is the one that we were supposed to get, and we got her.  So let us carry out the plan!"

            The little girl snapped her head up.  "What plan?"

            "I guess little girls were not told, Saria," came the low rumbling voice of the giant Darunia as he strode into the chamber.

            _Why are you doing this? _Elia wanted to cry out, but she was too scared to even put a space between her lips.  _The Sages…you cannot be them!_

            "Maybe we _should_ just throw her out the window," Saria muttered under her breath.

            "What is this glorious plan you spoke of, Ruto?" Raoru asked, looking at Elia under furrowed brows while he spoke.

            _Please_, the prisoner pleaded in her mind, _just let me go!  What have I done?  There must be a mistake—just let me go!_

            Nabooru stepped forward.  In her hand was one of the curved Gerudo swords the race was rumored to have mastered.  "Don't flinch, girlie," she ordered Elia.  "It will hurt more if you do."

            "Let me hold her," volunteered Darunia.  He came over and grasped Elia's shoulders with strong Goron fists.  "Okay."

            Nabooru grinned.  "It has been too long since I got to use my sword—a shame I have to waste in on a village girl!"  But she kept smiling.

            Swipe!  Slash!  Stab!

            Elia opened her mouth this time and cried out in pure pain as blood gushed down her face and body.  Her long brown waves floated down beside her, as elegant as they had always been when they were connected to her head.  There were several gashes all over the woman, all fresh and flowing with dark red liquid.

            No one in the room seemed disturbed by this display—no, perhaps they were intrigued.

            "So, what was the plan exactly?" Raoru questioned.

            Nabooru smirked.  "To make her as unappealing as possible, of course."

            The old man nodded.  "You have certainly succeeded at that."

            "Why?" cried Elia shrilly as her beaten body was thrown back into the cell.

            Darunia, who had been the one to drag her down and push her in, snorted.  "Shut up, bitch.  What gave you the right to talk to a Sage?"  He slammed the door closed and bolted it.

            Elia began to weep.  She had been too shocked to do it before now.  

            The blood had clotted and now her body was covered in thick patches of the stuff dried.  She reached up with her hands—which were included in the few parts that had remained intact—and touched what remained of her hair.

_            I have never cut my hair before…not in all of my life.  I was thinking of doing it one of these days.  I guess I don't have to worry about that anymore_, she thought bitterly, slumping over on the cold stone floor.  It was dirty and stung her wounds, but Elia didn't care.  Even if she had cared, though, her strength had ridden out of her on the blood.

            Soon she did not even possess the strength to stay awake, and she drifted off to sleep.

            "I guess we have to feed her," said a muffled voice.  "But why do I have to be the one to do it?"

            Elia was awakened by this voice and the sound of the door sweeping into the bare room.  She opened her eyes as much as she could, which was, to say, not that much.

            A pair of blue webbed feet appeared before the girl.

            "Get up," demanded Ruto, annoyed.  "If you do not eat, I am sure the birds would like this bread."  But her threats were empty; she dropped a stale roll and a canteen to the ground and marched out.

            Elia reached out weakly and took the items.  She wet her mouth with the canteen's water and pressed the bread between her teeth before washing it down.  After a while, she felt strong enough to sit up and did so against the stone bench.

            It was very dark in the room.  The only light in the room came not from the sole candle (it wasn't lit), but from beneath the door.  Was it day or night?  How much time had passed since Elia's ordeal?

            Elia mustered the strength to get up.  She walked for a bit before falling against the door.

            Wait.  It was…open?

            Elia blinked weakly to make sure she was not hallucinating.  It _was_ open!

            She stumbled out into the hall.  To her right was a dead end.  To her left was the way Saria had taken Elia before.  And so the young woman hauled herself that way, putting almost all her weight on the wall.

            She arrived at the stairway from before.  She grimaced, remembering the details of what had happened upstairs.  Then Elia kept going down the hallway.  She noticed that she was now traveling on some sort of very shallow incline.  Good, she thought, perhaps this is the way out.

            And she was right.  Soon she came to a door to the outside and took it.

            "Miss Elia!" cried a familiar voice.  "What happened to you?"

            "A…Aden…"

            She collapsed.

            "I'm just so glad I found you, Miss Elia!" the big Goron man said, looking as though he was going to cry out of pure bliss.  "I was lookin' ever since they kidnapped you!"

            The two were hiding in a small alley in the village.  Aden had wet cloths in the well, and he helped her to clean her wounds.

            Elia winced as she wiped some of the dried blood off her nose.  "H…How long was…that—ow!"

            "Two days?  Yeah; two days."  He rubbed her elbow gently.  "Does this hurt?"

            Elia shook her head.  "Not really…  I am sort of numb," she lied.  Really, her whole body was throbbing with violent pain.  But there was nothing Aden or she could do to help it.  She gave herself away and winced.

            Aden's eyes narrowed to slits, and he rose slightly from his kneeling position.  "Miss Elia, I'm gonna find out who did this to you—and I'm gonna kill 'em!"

            Elia bit her lip.  How could she tell Aden that his own father had been part of it?  "Aden—" she began.

            Suddenly, Aden yelled out in shock.

            Elia looked to see that he was wildly throwing his hands over his eyes and shaking.  "I-I-I—Forgive me, Miss Elia!  I didn't mean to see!"

            Elia, confused, looked around.  Finally she spotted it.  Her tunic, which had not escaped Nabooru's slicing and dicing, had fallen open at one part.  One very…crucial part.  She blushed and pulled the tear in the fabric back together, only succeeding in opening another rip to reveal even more of herself.  Finally she resolved to just hug her chest.

            "Aden, forgive me.  I had not planned on being so, um, immodest."

            Aden, whose cheeks were a pure magenta by now, refused to remove his hands from his eyes.  "But I shouldn'tve looked like I did…  I looked far too long before I realized…"  Now he removed his hands from his eyes and pressed them on opposite sides of his head.  His eyes were still squeezed shut tightly.

            "Give me your cloak, please," Elia said.

            Still blind by his own means, he felt for his cloak on the ground.  His hand grazed her leg and he jumped.  "Ahhh…!"

            "Here," Elia said, plucking up the cloak for herself.  She wrapped the huge thing around her body.  "You can look now."

            "Y-You're covered?"

            Elia sighed.  "Of course."

            He peeked before actually looking.  "I'm real real real sorry!" 

            "The fault is mine," she said, forcing a smile.  She cringed.  It hurt to move her mouth so much.  "At least my body isn't much to look at."

            "Oh, no!" Aden exclaimed, becoming emotional again.  "You're real—er….that is to say…um….uh…."  He scratched his head and looked away shyly.  "I think you're beautiful."

            "You are too nice," she told him, trying not to shift her cheeks anymore.  _How can I possibly be beautiful with hair shorter than a man's and gashes all over me?_

            Darkness rapidly collided with the western horizon.  A hooded man went around with a long pole and lit the street lamps, passing dangerously close to the pair's hiding spot.  After he was gone, Aden went to the end of the alley.  

            He came back and reported, "Nobody.  We should go and find Nylan—he was lookin' for you too."

            "I am too tired," Elia told him as she leaned harder against a large wooden crate.  "You should go and search."

            "I can't leave you alone!" the Goron nearly yelled.

            "Shh…"  Elia pressed a weary finger to her lips.  "Just go.  I won't be leaving alone."

            He nodded slowly.  "Just rest and keep warm, okay?  I won't be too long."

            Elia nodded and watched him back away, his face on her until the last possible second when he had to turn and go down the street.

            _I wish I could tell him more_, she thought.  _But how could I?  How can I tell anyone?  She shivered and pulled Aden's cloak around her.  They wanted to make me 'unappealing'…  Why?  Why?  Now I surely cannot go back to Link!_

            Wait.

            _Was that…was that the point of this?  They scar me and cut off my hair—was it so Link could never look upon me again?_  She sighed.  _Of course it was.  I am so stupid to have not seen it before!  Why couldn't I tell that that is what they wanted?  If they wanted me dead, I am more than sure they could have killed me.  No…they wanted me to suffer.  And knowing that they want me to suffer does not ease my suffering._

            She stared at the ground, its image wavering in the lamplight.  _This is certainly more than I bargained for_, she pondered bitterly.  _Even though I have come this far, can I just go back home?  Link does not remember me, and, with me as I am now, he probably will never want me.  If it is even possible, should I head back to Hyrule?  Ask Dain to forgive me and go back to the way things were?_

            _But Dain will be upset_, Elia recognized.  _Everyone will be upset by what has happened to me now!_  Salty tears started leaking down into the gashes, making them sting.  _I cannot go back to Dain or Millie or anyone.  I want to die…  Why didn't I just drown before?_

            "Elia!"

            She glanced up slowly.

            The red-haired woman rushed over.  "Oh, child, what has happened to you?"  She threw her arms around the girl.

            Elia sniffled.  "Wonara."

            A huge oval of green light filled the alley. 

            "Nylan," Elia spoke.  It triggered a nasty cough, and the girl grasped her throat as the blood came up her throat and out onto the cloak.

            Wonara's blue eyes widened.  "By the Gods!"  She lifted up her robed arms and unleashed rays of green.

            Elia felt her pain lessen severely.  She looked at her arms to see that the cuts were healed and all that remained her paled scars.

            "That is all magic can do, I'm afraid," Wonara said, running her hand through the short brown hair of the girl before her.  "How are you now?"

            "A great deal better," Elia replied.  She pulled some of the flakes of blood from a stray lock of hair.  "I suppose you cannot do anything about my…new style."

            "I can fix it up a bit," Wonara said, trying to mask the concern in her voice with optimism.  She stood and pulled the other woman up too.  "Let us go.  A dark alley is no place for a young woman at night."

            Elia was still weak, so she leaned heavily on Wonara as they walked to meet up with Aden and Nylan.  She forced a smile on her face, even though the thoughts from before still lingered in her mind.  _I am sorry, everyone…  I didn't wish to worry you even more…_

            Elia adjusted the cloak so that it was around her shoulders.

            Aden smiled down at her.  "You're too weak to walk, Miss Elia.  I'll carry you, if you want."

            Elia shook her head.  "No need—"

            "Yes," Nylan broke in.  "Aden, I think that would be a fine idea."

            Aden nodded to the man and scooped Elia off the ground, cradling her small body in his large, rock arms.

            Elia sighed.  She always had to be such a burden!  In spite of herself, she found a kind of warm comfort there, bobbing along in Aden's arms with Nylan and Wonara close at hand.  At that moment, she didn't mind being treated like a little girl.  She let her head rest on Aden's shoulder and closed her eyes, listening to the others converse.  She didn't really listen to what they said until she heard a specific name pop up.

            "What did you say, Nylan?" she asked.

            "I ran into Link.  He had this in his hand," Nylan explained, stopping in his tracks.  He handed a small band of silver to Elia.  They all began to walk again (well, with the exception of Elia), and soon were out of the village completely.

            Elia studied the ring for a minute.

            "He told me," Nylan continued, "that it had glowed a few times.  He also mentioned something about lately getting a 'peculiar feeling'—what that means, I have no idea, mind you."

            "Why did he give it to you?"

            The blond man said, "Frankly, I don't know that either.  I told him he should give it to you personally, but he told me that you probably needed it as soon as possible."

            Elia slipped it on her finger slowly.  "Where did he go then?" she wondered softly.

            "He said he was perfecting some sort of medical technique that could save anyone from the brink of death."  Nylan shrugged.  "Apparently he had to get back to it."

            "Sounds very unlike the hero that the boys cherish," commented Wonara, grasping the hand on her husband.  Unspoken messages flew instantaneously between the pair's eyes.

            _In a way_, thought Elia, _I am sad I did not see him.  But…  No.  I cannot see Link again!_  She hugged her ring to her chest, as she had done thousands upon thousands of times in the past.  _I can keep his ring and remember what we had years ago, but...  But I cannot go back.  I should go…  I should go home._

            And then, they were attacked.

            Arrows ripped through the air close to their heads.

            "Nylan!" Wonara cried out.  "What of the shield?"

            "It's still here, dammit!" Nylan said, those words followed by a lot of words that Elia had only heard spoken by drunken men in Dain's tavern.  He looked at Aden.  "Take Elia and run!"

            "See you at camp!" yelled Wonara as she and her husband rushed in the direction the arrows radiated from.  

            "Nylan!  Wonara!" Elia called after them, flailing in the Goron's arms.  He only gripped her tighter.

            Aden ran across the field.  It was dark, and he nearly tripped a half dozen times.  However, the giant Goron maintained his balance.  He stopped after a while, panting.  "I think we're safe," he got out in between breaths.  He stood up, his eyes scanning the darkness.  "Miss Elia, I—"

            Aden yelled out in agony and collapsed to the ground.

            "Aden!" the woman shrieked, feeling around for him.  She felt something wet.  "You're bleeding!"

            He moaned.  "My…back…"  he got out, struggling to stand.  "I guess it's not safe here…gotta…move you…"

            "No, Aden, you should rest!" she protested, trying to hold him down.  Suddenly, in the corner of her eye a light flashed.  She saw then that they were not far from Link's tower.  "Aden, we can go ask Link for help."

            "O…Okay."

            They slumped over to the tower.

            "If we can make it up the stairs," Elia said as they stood at the base of them, "you will be all right."

            Aden's body was moving up and down with each painful breath he took.  "Miss Elia…  Let's go."  He started up, pushing against the stairs.  At the third landing, he stopped and sat down.  "I need a break."

            Elia nodded.  And then her eyes caught a trail of red winding all the way down.  "Goddesses!  Aden!"

            He looked back and cracked a weak smile.  "Us Gorons have a lot of blood.  Don't worry.  I just need to rest…a little while…"  He fell to the floor.  "Just…a little while…"

            "Just rest," Elia pleaded.  "I'll go ahead and get Link to come down."  She looked at him, panicked.  A rush of adrenaline soared through her veins and she leapt up the stairs.

            It seemed like forever before she arrived at the door.  "You have to help him!" she begged, almost tripping as she flew into the room.

            "Help who?"  Link rose from his desk.  "Who—Miss Elia?  Is that you?"

            Elia couldn't worry about her appearance now.  "You must help him!  Aden—he's bleeding all over the place!  He'll _die_!"

            His sapphire eyes widened.  "Your friend is…dying?"

            "Yes!" she screamed, impatient.  "Please!  You're a scientist or something, right?  You can help him!"

            "Well," Link said, staying calm, "if he truly _is_ dying, I can try out my new technique.  Where is he?"

            "On the stairs!  Just hurry!"

            "You go and get him, if you will," Link said, going further into the room to some sort of cot.  He pushed all the books off of it.  "Your friend—what does he look like?"

            "Tall—I don't know!  Why does it matter?"

            "Stop screaming.  All right, just go and get him."

            Elia complied and dashed back down to the Goron.

            "Miss…Elia…" he said.  "What was all…the yelling…for?"  His low rumbling voice was so quiet that Elia barely understood him.  He seemed to be teetering on the brink between consciousness and unconsciousness—or perhaps instead the chasm between life and death. 

            "It is not far," Elia told him, using the remaining adrenaline to pick him up.  "We can make it."  She turned put him on her back, starting to haul him up the stairs, each step painful and overwhelmingly difficult.  She was not a strong woman and was definitely not a big one, but she managed to take Aden up and up, yelling for Link as she approached his room.

            "A Goron?"  Link sounded more than surprised when he came out to help Elia with her burden.  "You said he was tall, but—"

            Elia helped tug Aden in and then onto the cot.  "You mean," she said when her task was finished, "you cannot help a Goron?"

            "I did not say that.  I mean…I still believe I can.  It is surely worth a try."  He looked at her.  "You should rest to."  He pointed to a chair.  "Go and sit down."

            Elia frowned at him.  "I want to help."  Suddenly, her eye caught a figure standing in the corner.  The figure, though, was flickering.  It looked like a rough painting viewed in candlelight.

            "I can do this by myself," he insisted, going over to the figure.

            "But I could help.  Link, _please_."

            He looked at her for a moment, something lighting up in his eyes.  However, he just turned away.  "Fine, if you desire it so badly, then help.  Go get that other cot."

            Elia did as she was instructed.  Her task brought her right next to the flickering image.  It seemed like a brown-haired man in a simple laced tunic and tights and tall.  But the person had no face, no expression.  Was it a ghost?

            She dragged the folding bed across the floor to Link, who pushed it up against where Aden lay.  He then lifted up his arms.  Suddenly, the ghostly figure flew up from his corner, levitating to the cot.

            "What are you doing?" Elia wanted to know.

            Link turned to her, annoyed.  "There is no life left in this man's body," he said, gesturing to Aden with a casual hand.  "But I can give him a new home."

            Elia's eyes widened.  She backed away slowly as Link returned to his work.  He was going to do _what_?  Put Aden in the ghost's body?

            Link pulled up his long maroon sleeves and placed his hands on Aden's chest, which was barely moving at all.  He closed his eyes and began to chant something.

            _Link…you are a different person now.  But if you can save Aden's life…is it worth it?_  Elia watched in awe.  She finally backed into a chair.  Really, too much was going on for her to fathom.  All she could do was watch.

            Suddenly, Link retracted his hands.  Between them was a glowing orb of piercing red light, sparkling vividly.  Elia knew she had never seen anything more beautiful or pure than the ruby crystal.  She stared at it, as it was lifted from the Goron's body to the other cot and the strange flickering figure.

            Link let go of the shimmering sphere.  It drifted gently down to the heart of the ghost.

            The room was suddenly pure red.

            This dulled quickly, but everything was bathed in a pulsing, flashing crimson glow, which radiated from the ghost body.  As soon as the orb had gone into the 'body', the light had begun to race all around through the limbs and head.

            Elia was so curious that she forgot her fear and stood.  The light in the room returned to normal.  However, the ghost stopped flashing; it became more solid.  Now, features were visible.  The body seemed to grow tall and thin.  Deep-set, caring eyes, a strong nose, thin, drawn out cheeks, and a powerful jaw appeared on the face.  Raven hair of about shoulder length surrounded the handsome face.  It really reminded Elia of Aden, like how he would look had he been Hylian.  Yes, now the faceless ghost had transformed into a sleeping young Hylian man.

            There was a twinkling.  Elia noticed that the bloody Goron body faded from existence, as did the trail of blood that led out the door.  Link chanted something under his breath until this was over.

            "Why do that?  Get rid of his other body, I mean?" Elia questioned.  _Have I done the right thing for Aden?_ she wondered desperately.

            Link stared at the woman as though she were stupid.  "How would you feel, waking up and seeing your own body next to you?"

            "Oh, I see.  He would probably have a heart attack."

            The blonde nodded and pulled the blanket from the now bare bed and spread it over the sleeping man.  "He should wake up in perfect health."  He stood and walked over to his desk.  "But I really did not count on the fact that he would be Goron.  Things will be tough, adjusting to the switch."

            Elia smiled down at the sleeping man.  "Aden is strong."

            "That is good," Link told her, busying himself with a journal of some sort.  He worked his quill hurriedly.  Elia imagined he was recording the night's events.  He shut the book and looked at Elia.  "So…what happened to you?"

            Elia turned away.  Now that Aden was fine, her worries about Link seeing her in such a disheveled state surfaced.

            She heard Link's footsteps.  He was right behind her.  "Miss Elia?"

            She felt her heart racing.  _If only I could turn around and embrace him!_  She bit her lip.  _No…he would not want such an ugly girl to touch him…_

            "I get this 'miss' stuff enough with Aden," Elia complained.  "I am no lady.  Just plain 'Elia' is good enough for me."  She took a step away from him.

            "Well, perhaps things have changed," Link said thoughtfully.  "Before you came, I could not remember that last time I saw a woman.  But I at least thought they liked to be treated with manners."

            "I suppose.  Not me.  I imagine a girl like myself is not worth wasting manners on."

            "Have it your way."

            Elia kept her face away from him, but busily tried to straighten her hair with her fingers.  It was no use; the strands were very uneven.  To make matters worse, it was glued together with chunks of dried blood.  She sighed.  _I am hideous!_

            "There is little use in standing around like this," the man said, going to sit at his desk.  

            Elia did the same, sitting in her chair from before.  

            "I had not realized how late it was!" Link exclaimed.  "Are you going to sleep?" he asked of Elia, pointing at his timepiece on the wall.  "You look in need of it."

            Elia shrugged, but yawned in spite of herself.  She curled up in the big cushioned chair.  "Good night."

            "At last you spoke," Link commented.  "I feared you had gone mute."

^-^-^-^


	18. Romance and Sadness

^-^-^-^

            Elia returned to the room after bathing at the well below the next morning.  In her hands were what remained of her previous outfit, and on her body was an old tunic of Link's and Aden's cloak.

            She sniffed the tunic.  _It smells like him.  _She sighed before coming all the way in.

            Link was sitting in front of Aden's sleeping body, writing down notes hurriedly.  Elia pulled up a wooden chair next to him and sat in it.

            "What do I do now?" she asked herself, but Link responded.

            "How should I know?"

            "I was not asking you."

            "What?  You just…oh, never mind."  He shook his head, flinging strands of blond-orange about.  "If you want to talk to yourself, it is fine by me."

            "I was _not_ talking to myself!" she cried impertinently.

            "Then what were you doing?"

            "I don't have to answer to you!"  She folded her arms and turned abruptly away from him.

            "I think I am remembering why I enjoyed solitude," Link muttered under his breath.  He flipped a page and began filling it with calculations.

            "Humph!  Link, you are just as mean as you always were!"

            "Mean?  How am I mean?" he demanded, shutting his book and throwing it to his cluttered desk.  When she did not answer, the man sighed.

            Elia turned more thoughtful.  "I wonder if Nylan and Wonara are all right."

            "Hmm?  Talking to yourself again?"

            She spun around and stared him down.  "I really am worried!"

            To her surprise, he smiled.  "I know, I know."

            Elia couldn't help but smile back at him.

            Link blushed and lowered his gaze to the floor.

            "Miss…Elia…?"                     

            She looked to see the young man on the cot opening his eyes, which were a beautiful shade of red-brown.

            "Aden!" she cried happily, literally falling from her chair and kneeling in front of him.  "How do you feel?"

            "Very weird," Aden said.  He jumped slightly.  "My…voice…?"  He grasped his throat.  He jolted to a sitting position.  "What happened?" he cried, looking wildly about at himself.

            "Forgive me, Aden," Elia said somberly, taking one of his now soft hands in her own.  "It was the only way to save you."

            "I made you a body out of magic," explained Link matter-of-factly.  "I did not know that you were a Goron until it was too late."

            "So I'm…Hylian?"  Aden's eyes were wide as he touched his face, hair, arms, and torso slowly.  His voice itself was extremely deep and rich, but it lacked the exact volcanic roar Gorons possessed.  Amazingly, a big grin spread across his face.

            "You aren't too upset with me, I hope?" Elia said, taken back by his reaction.  

            "It's gonna take some gettin' use to, I can tell," Aden replied, scratching the back of his head as he already did.  His fingers got caught in the black strands.  Well, he really wasn't used to having hair.  He peeled the comforter off himself and put his bare feet on the floor, flexing his pale new toes.

            "How are you feeling?" pressed Elia, concerned.

            "Really good!"  He jumped out of the bed, wobbling a bit.

            Elia and Link both got up to catch him.  However, Aden steadied himself and started to pace slowly across the room on his long, thin legs.  "I feel so weak," he admitted to both of them.

            "Yes," Link replied.  "I am afraid you will never again have the Goron strength."

            "Aw, it's okay," the other man assured him.  "Hey, do you have a mirror?"

            "Somewhere," Link mumbled, going over to his big desk and sorting through papers.  "Ah," he announced, plucking up a small oval.

            Aden took it eagerly.  He stared at the mirror, mesmerized, pawing gently through his new black locks.  He ran his skinny hand along his face.  "I can't believe it.  I'm really Hylian!"

            Link raised an eyebrow, whispering to Elia out of the corner of his mouth, "He is much happier than I expected."

            Aden then looked right at the young woman.  "Miss Elia, do I look okay?"

            Elia came over to him and answered, "You look more than all right."

            Link cleared his throat.  "I am going to go…collect samples."  He left the room hastily before he could get a response.

            "Here," Elia said to the remaining male, "you should sit down."  She guided him over to the bed and they both sat at the edge of it.  

            Elia's toes barely reached the floor, while Aden's stretched a few feet out.

            Elia absentmindedly picked up the comb Link had lent her and straightened up her hair.  She had clipped it this morning while gazing down into the well.  She sighed.  _I miss my long hair…  I feel like such a tomboy now._

            "Hey, Miss Elia?"

            Still a little ashamed about her appearance, Elia didn't look up.  "Hmm?"

            "Now that I'm Hylian…  Um…"

            "What is it?"

            "Miss Elia…  Can I ask what you, er, think of me?"

            Elia looked up at him, opening her mouth to ask him what he meant.

            His open mouth met hers.

            Elia was frozen.  What?  What was he doing?

            He put his hands on her shoulders, holding her as he tilted his head to plunge deeper into the kiss.

            _Aden!  No!  _Elia screamed out at him in her head.  _I can't hurt him…  What should I do?  Aden, we should not…  _Helpless, she sat there and let him kiss her.  She wanted to pull away, but some part of her wasn't sure.  If she rejected Aden, it would surely wound him.  What should she do?

            His tongue entered her mouth.  His hand dropped down and circled her small waist, pulling her closer.

            Elia forgot herself.  Her eyelids fluttered shut gently.  _His kiss…it tastes sweet…_  She moved her lips slightly with his.  _His kiss is so deep…I fear I will be swallowed by it…_  

            His grip on her waist tightened.  He varied how hard he pushed his lips, unsure of the right amount of force.  Soon he just kissed her more and more passionately, hugging her body close to his.

            He slowly came to a stop and released his grip.

            Elia fell slightly away.

            Aden was breathing hard.  His auburn eyes were twinkling as he looked at her.

            "Aden, I—" she began, blinking slowly with her big brown eyes.  

            "I love you!" he yelled, taking her into his embrace once more and gently grazing her neck a few times with his lips.  He let her go and gazed intensely into her eyes.  "I couldn't tell you before.  But now that I am Hylian…  Miss Elia—_Elia_, I love you!"

            Her heart skipped a beat.  It was true.  She had always known that he loved her.  He was always so kind to her, always so worried for her safety.  He had risked his life for her more than once.  _But…_  "Aden—"

            "Since I first saw you, I thought you were the most beautiful woman in the world, Elia.  And then I saw your heart.  You were the first person to show kindness to me in years.  I knew it couldn't be, with me being Goron—but it's different now."  He took her face in one of his big, soft hands and massaged it gently.  "I love you."

            "I—"

            "Don't say anything," Aden interrupted.  "I can't bear it."  He hesitated, then said again, "I love you!  Elia, I love you more than anything!"  The man brought his face up to hers.  "I love you," he whispered before engaging her in another kiss.

            _And I am quite sure that I have never, ever been in love with you…_  Link's words echoed through her mind.  She had been about ready to push Aden away, but then she remembered.  _Link doesn't love me anymore.  Maybe he never did.  Aden…  He really loves me…  And this does not feel so bad…_

            Elia brought up her arms and wrapped them around his neck.  She opened her mouth further, pulling her body close to his.

            Aden took one hand and placed it around her waist.  The other he used to rub up and down Elia's back slowly.  His kiss turned almost desperate.

            Elia felt his thumping heart close to her own.  She closed her eyes tightly.  The whole world she tried to force out of her mind, concentrating only on the rhythm of their hearts and their kiss.  

            _I am trying to hard to concentrate on this_, Elia thought suddenly, freezing.  _It shouldn't be this way.  It should not be forced…_

            Aden backed just far enough away to speak to her.  "Elia, something wrong?"

            She opened her eyes and looked at him.  Her mind raced as quickly as her heart.  _What should I do?  What should I do?_

            He took his arm from her waist and used that hand to play with her hair.

            _Aden…he is so good and honest…  And I…_

            Her long, pointed ears picked up a sound.  She turned around to see Link's back retreating out the door.

            "Elia?" Aden said, his deep voice becoming a little higher.  He gently took Elia's head and turned it back so that he was again looking into her eyes.

            Elia bit her lip and wrenched herself from his warm arms.  "I don't deserve you, Aden."  She started to stand.

            He pulled her back down to sit again.  "Elia…?"

            Elia felt tears surfacing.  She couldn't look at him.

            She felt his long fingers tenderly wiping the tears from her face.

            She only cried harder.

            "Please," he begged.  "I don't want you to cry.  I don't wanna make you cry!"  He massaged her short hair gently with a comforting hand.

            She pushed his arm off.  "I…I am sorry, Aden."

            "I hurt you, didn't I?"  Aden was suddenly extremely angry.  "I _violated_ you—I didn't even ask!"  He buried his face in his hands.  "I'm a bastard!"

            "No," Elia tried to assure him.  The innocence of his heart pained her.  Gods!  She was so terribly confused!

            "I didn't mean to hurt you," he said, clenching his fist so hard that blood began to drip from in between his fingers.

            Elia saw this and grabbed his hand.  "Stop it, Aden!  It is _my_ fault!  I…  I let you kiss me…  I…"

            He pulled away from her and stood up, looking down at her with glistening eyes.  "For a minute, at least I got to think that you really did like it…"  He ran for the door.

            "But I did—Aden!  Wait!"  She picked up his cloak and started after him.

            It was a long time later when Elia came back into the tower room.  She saw Link bent over some papers at his desk.

            He looked up at her for a moment, but said nothing.

            Elia dragged herself to the bed and sat upon the rumbled covers.  "I could not find him."

            "Oh," Link replied simply, reaching for something across the desk.

            The single word stung her, a thorn in her chest.

            Elia fingered the faded tunic she wore.  It was green, or at least probably had been at some point.  It was old.  Was it that same emerald one of the rumored Kokiri fabric that he had worn to defeat Ganondorf all those years ago?

            Her attention shifted to her hands.  There were still thick white lines there, scars from Nabooru's attack.  It reminded her that she was still disfigured.  She shuddered.  What was she supposed to do now?  There were people who wanted her to suffer…

            She looked at Link.  _He is ignoring me_, she noted.  _Is he upset?  He did see Aden and me…_  "I hope that he is all right," Elia said quietly.

            All was silent but the occasional rustle of papers.

            Elia got up and walked to the window, peering out into the night.  She leaned her elbows on the stone, her hands touching the outside.  

            "I…  I am sure your friend will be fine," Link muttered from a few steps behind her.  "Now where did I put that…?"

            Elia frowned.  Had her hair been its former length, it would have blown gently in the wind.  Now it could only flap weakly against her forehead.  "He could be in danger, you know.  We _did_ get attacked."

            "Ah, here it is!"  He held up some sort of small, shining, circular instrument in his palm.

            Elia spun on her slippered heel.  "Don't you even care!"

            Link looked up at her dully.  "_I_ wasn't the one to make him run off, now was I?"

            "I didn't want to!" she cried.  "I didn't want to hurt him!  It…it was not my fault!"

            Link raised an eyebrow.  "I really would not know."

            "I wounded him," Elia mumbled, becoming more somber.  She looked out the window at the bright, twinkling stars.  "Poor Aden…  I hurt him badly."

            "I do not understand you at all," pronounced the man.  "You mutter on about _our_ love, and you reject your own lover…"  He sighed.

            "What are you talking about?  It is not like that at all!"

            "Then what is it like?"

            "Aden is just my _friend_.  And you and I are—were…"

            "You're a confused woman."

            Elia bit her lip.  "This is why I never wanted to see you again," she said quietly.

            "Then why are you still here?"

            He was so casual, saying that.

            "You _are_ a bastard," Elia muttered, leaning a bit farther out the window.  "I came all the way here for you to just…forget me."

            "You think I wanted to?"

            Elia turned around, startled.  He was standing now, looking intently at her.

            He shook his head and started walking away.  "I do not know what happened.  I only remember journeying here and staying here alone.  That was years ago.  How many years, I don't know.  But I have had no reason to change."

            "Aden loves me, but I could not love him back because…  Even though you don't want me anymore, Link, I still can't feel love for anyone else!"

            Link made a sound that resembled a growl.  "Don't blame this on me!  You're the one who hurt that Aden guy!"

            "That…that is _not_ what I am talking about…!  Link—!"

            "You come barging in here with all your romances, and try to get _me_ involved!  What did I ever do?"

            "You told me you loved me…"

            "If you want someone to tell you that, then go find your 'friend'!  I am sorry for what you _think_ has happened between us, all right?  But it could not have happened.  I think I would remember!"

            Elia wiped her eyes furiously, trying to hide her tears.  "You don't understand at all!  What happened to you?  You…"  She began to shake with sobs.  _I cry so much_, she thought.  _I am such a crybaby._

            Link's manner changed completely.  He stepped over to her, concerned.  "You…you're just a child, aren't you?" he said kindly, stroking her face gently with the back of one hand.  "Cheer up now."

            "I thought you were angry with me," she managed to say after stopping herself from crying.

            Link sighed.  "I don't know.  I cannot bring myself to yell at a lovely lady in distress, I suppose."

            Elia glanced up at him, seeing he was drowning in thought.

            "Um, er…  By the way…"

            "Yes?" she said eagerly.

            "About…that ring.  It was glowing before."

            Elia lifted up her hand.  "So was my finger."

            He reached out and touched the ring on her hand.

            "Oh…Gods!"

            "Link, what is it?"  She leaned closer to him.

            Link was holding his head, as if it were throbbing.  His cerulean eyes were opened wide.  "Elia…?"

            "Link?"  She got even closer to him, standing practically against the man.

            "Gods, Elia!  I think…  I remember…"

            Her heart began pulsing violently within her.  "You do?  Link?"

            His hands clasped her on either side tightly.  "Saving you in Kakariko…  The wolfos…  You took care of me…  The two of us…  The fireplace…"  He gulped.

            "Link!  You really remember!"  She threw her arms around him and buried her face in his chest.  "Oh, Link!"

            She felt him tense next to her.  Elia blinked her eyes wearily open.  There was some sort of golden light flashing in the far corner of the room.

            Out of this portal of light appeared a beautiful young woman, clothed in a fine dress the color of spring roses.  Her hair, topped with a tiara, was a shimmering blond, her narrowed eyes a wonderful sapphire, and her tightly pursed lips the shade of fresh blood.

            "I apologize," she stated in a regal Hylian voice, "but I am simply _not_ about to allow Link his memories.  I took them for a reason."

            She reached up with a gloved hand, releasing rays of purple and gold that shot across the room to Link.

            Link clutched his head with both hands and roared, falling to his knees.

            "Link!" Elia shouted, lowering herself to hold him.  She glared at the stranger.

            The blond woman shook out her long golden locks, cackling wickedly.  "Serves you right for trying to break the seal on him!"  She brought up her long bare arms and faded away with another beam of magic.

^-^-^-

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Author's Note:

Yes, this is moi.  Firefly.  Konnichi wa!  Sorry for the short chapter.

Ah ha ha, you thought Link would get his memories back, did you?!  Silly children!  Of course not!  I have not yet begun to write this story!

Ahahahaha…..

Well anyway, I really think you should feel sorry for poor Aden right now.

[Aden: Yes, feel sorry for me!  I'm a tall handsome stranger now and that fool Elia _still_ can't love me!  Curse you, Link!]

[Link:  It's me who doesn't have the memories back, mister!  Wait…who are you again?]

[Elia:  ;_; ]

Oh well, this is…um…goodbye for now?

Of course it is!  I have to write more!

Bwahaha!

p.s. any guesses on the blond stranger? :p


	19. Tribe of Death

^-^-^-^

            "Elia?"

            Nylan stood at the door, accompanied by Wonara.

            "You two…you're all right…"  Elia wiped her tired eyes.  She had been up all night hugging Link, who had seemed to fall into some kind of coma.

            Wonara came over.  "It is _you_, child, who does not look all right.  What happened?"

            Elia helplessly shrugged.  "I do not know.  Link…"  She stared at him sadly.  "He remembered, and then this woman came and zapped him!"  She was sitting on the edge of the bed on which the slumbering Link lay.  "It was like a nightmare."

            Nylan paced around the room.  "I sense the remains of an extremely strong magical aura…  Someone…important was here."

            Elia hurriedly described the appearance of the visitor and the fateful visit.

            The man and his wife exchanged glances.  "Zelda," they said in unison.

            Elia gasped.  "As in…Zelda?  _The_ Zelda?  _Queen_ Zelda?"

            Nylan nodded firmly.  "I doubt it could have been anyone else."

            "But why would she do that to Link?  Take his memories away again?"  But the puzzle pieces were flying into assemblage inside her mind as she spoke.  _Zelda took Link's memories away and sent him here.  She ordered the Sages to beat me…  She did not want me reawakening him!  I know she must have done these things—but I have no idea why!_

            Wonara shook her head.  "I am clueless."

            "As am I," her husband agreed.  He came over and studied Link carefully.  "Poor lad.  Looks to me as though he's in a lot of agony."

            And he was right.  Link was fairly still, but on his face was an expression composed of anger, sadness, and confusion.

            Elia put her hand on his forehead, wincing to herself when she felt that it was hot.  "Oh, Link.  If only I had not come…  It seems I am the cause for a lot of hurt these days."

            Wonara put a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder.  "Nonsense, child.  I would not believe for a second that you were at fault."

            Elia looked at her thankfully.  Then she changed the subject.  "Um, did you two find out who was attacking us?"

            "It was those damned Seconds again," Nylan told her.

            "Again?"  Wonara seemed a bit alarmed.  "_Nylan_."

            Nylan took a step back from the glare of his wife.  "Um, honey, I…"

            "What didn't you tell me?" the redhead demanded, coming after him.

            "We were attacked by them before…  I meant to tell you before, but I thought it would only worry you…"  Nylan was waving his hands around in front of him frantically.

            Wonara stopped her pursuit.  She raised an eyebrow.  "Nylan…"

            Elia put her hand over her mouth to hide a smile.  There was no other word for those two besides 'cute'.  It was once in a blue moon that Nylan would show weakness.  But here he was, flashing it unashamedly around his wife.

            "What…?  Who…?"

            "Link!"

            He was waking up.  Slowly, he opened his eyes.  Then he cried out and shut them again.

            "Link?" Elia exclaimed again.

            "I…  This is…"

            "Link, what's the matter?  Link?"

            Nylan cast a spell over the younger man.

            Link's cheeks darkened, returning from the deathly pale that they had been.  He struggled into a sitting position.

            "Oh, you finally woke up!"  Elia threw her arms about his neck, toppling the hero back onto the bed.

            "M-Miss—wait, Elia…"

            Elia backed away from him a little, looking down into his eyes.  "Link, you—?"

            He held his forehead with a trembling hand.  "I…I…"

            "Lad," spoke Nylan.  "What do you remember?  Do you remember us?"

            "I…  I remember—no, I…  Who?  What…?"  He kept shaking his head frantically.  "What is going on with me?"

            Elia tightened her grip on the man, burying her face near his neck.  "Link, hold on.  You remember me, Link?"  _Please say yes!_

            "I don't know," he admitted, his voice shaky and uncertain.

            "Fight it, child," instructed Wonara.  "You _can_ remember."

            Moments of frightening silence passed.  Elia's mind spun.  _Please oh please!  Link, you only just remembered me!_

            The hero spoke at last.  "Remember?  I…  I _cannot_."

            Elia felt herself plummet down a spire of darkness.  She could not put words into her mouth to let out.  No thoughts surfaced.  She could only sit against him, frozen.

            "What do you remember?" Nylan pressed, somehow gentle in his inquiry.

            Link thought long and hard.  "Hyrule…  Diola…  Magic…  Wh…  Where…am I?  I cannot remember…"

            Elia looked up to Nylan, pleading silently with her soft chocolate eyes.  "Zelda…  What did she _do_ to him?"

            "This happened…  This happened before…  This feeling…"  Link squeezed either side of his head.  "No, make it stop!  I cannot remember!"

            "Link," Elia said, reaching up to cup his jaw in her small fingers.  "This happened before?  This happened when Zelda wiped your memory before?"

            "Get off!"  Link pushed her away with a strong, sudden movement of his arms.  He sat against the wall, rocking back and forth, his arms hugging his knees.  He began to chant like a small child afraid of the dark.  Afraid of the unknown.  "Alone, all alone," he muttered.  "No friends…  I can't remember.  So lonely…  So lonely…"

            "Link, _no_," the brunette begged, crawling across the mattress to him.  "You aren't alone.  I'm here.  _Link_…"

            "No good.  Cannot remember.  I… I…"  He kept rocking, only faster, hugging himself tighter and murmuring faster and louder.  "All alone.  Lonely.  No one.  Alone.  All alone."

            Pain collected in the young woman's heart.  "No, Link, you aren't alone, you aren't alone."

            "This is no good," Wonara said quietly to her husband.  "This looks like it will continue infinitely."

            Nylan nodded, solemn.  "We should go back and get a talisman."

            "You have one?"

            "We need to take him to camp," the older man said to Elia.

            "You can help him?" she asked.

            Nylan almost recoiled at the need in the girl, but he nodded.

            "Link, I can help you.  We can help you."

            "Don't wanna go!  Don't wanna go!" cried Link, yelling almost as loudly as he could.  "Don't wanna go!  Don't make me!"

            _It's as if he is a small child throwing a tantrum_, Elia thought.  _Every time I try to comfort him, he throws me off.  Oh, Link…_

            The young woman turned to Nylan and Wonara.  "Could you go and get it and then come back?"

            "We could," the man replied.  "But Zelda has already visited here.  It would be best to take him back; Xua and I could set up a denser magic shield."

            "Link," Elia said softly.  "We can help you.  Let's go to camp."

            He stared right at her.

            Elia froze.  The look on his face…  Link never before looked like that!  He never had such pain and fear and confusion written all over his features.  He never had cried before her before.

            "Don't wanna go!" he yelled abruptly, grabbing a random notebook from the foot of the bed and heaving it at her.

            Elia cried out as she dodged it.  "Link, what's the matter with you?!"

            "I did not want to do this," Nylan remarked under his breath.  He sighed, lifting up his arms.  "Power of Farore," he chanted loudly as the amount of magical power in the room began to grow.  "I call upon thee!  Bless us with your sacred breezes!  Farore's Wind!"

            A green light swirled around all four of them, transporting them away.

            _This is the same spell that saved me earlier!_ Elia thought wildly.  _That saved me from falling in the library!  But…why?_

^

            "Here," Nylan said, placing a pendant around Link's neck.

            Link reached up to fight him, but, as soon as the pendant was fastened, his hands dropped limply to his sides.  

            Elia had not gotten a close look at the charm since they returned to camp a few minutes earlier, but it looked like a small silver circle.  Perhaps she would get to look at it later.

            Link's eyelids fluttered shut, and then opened again in the same manner.  He fingered the small talisman, gazing at it.

            "Link?" Elia said, coming closer to him.

            Link said nothing.

            Nylan explained.  "Child, this cannot cure a spell that was cast by the Seventh Sage herself.  A talisman—even one consecrated to a Goddess—cannot attempt to break it.  But…  It will ease his mind and allow him to function."

            Elia nodded slowly.  _Yes…  A spell—no, a curse— of the Seventh Sage…  I should not have gotten my hopes up._

            Link slowly raised his gaze, looking at Elia.  "Elia?"  He said her name quietly, sweetly.  The way he used to say it almost six years ago…

            "Link, do you remember me?" she prodded, anxious.

            He smiled sadly at her.  "I remember…that I remembered you.  But…"

            She sat down in front of the fire next to him.  "That is good enough for right now," she told him.  "How do you feel?"

            He again looked at his necklace.  "My mind is a whir.  Everything…  I remember it, but at the same time I cannot."  Link reached out and took Elia's hand in his own, squeezing it gently.

            Elia felt color come to her face.  She scooted nearer to the man she loved, intertwining her arm with his and rubbing her nose against his arm.  "Oh, Link, you don't have to remember…  Just as long as you are all right."  _It's good enough for now, Link.  As long as you are not in pain, you need never remember…_

            Nylan cleared his throat and disappeared into the big tent, leaving the two of them alone.  Dusk was gently kissing the horizon, the sky already revealing a few twinkling stars.  All seemed quiet and peaceful, especially since Elia knew that there was a magical barrier surrounding them.

            "No one can touch us, Link," Elia whispered to him happily, gripping his thick digits more tightly.  "We are safe."

            "Mmmhmm," he mumbled, massaging the back of her hand with his thumb.

            "I wish we could stay like this forever."

            "Mmmhmm…"

            Elia heard the snap of a breaking twig.

            "Aden!"

            The tall raven-haired man looked over at them.  He hesitated, then cracked a big smile.  "Sorry for interruptin'."  He scratched the back of his head.  "I got bad timin', y'know."  He turned his back and started walking away.

            "Oh, Aden!" Elia exclaimed.  _How could I forget about him?  Oh, Aden…_  She stood.

            "Elia?" Link asked, keeping his fingers wrapped around hers.

            "I will be back," she promised, her heart breaking slightly as she broke the connection between them.  "But I have to go after him.  I…  I need to apologize."  She took a long look into his cerulean eyes.  "I…"  She turned and went after Aden.

            "Aden?" she called as she stepped through the woods.  "Aden?"

            She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.  A premonition?

            _Goddesses—!  I ran off without thinking!_  Her eyes darted around.  She couldn't see anything.  Black had consumed the world quickly.  She had been too wrapped up thinking about Link to even note the descending darkness.

            And then, she had a reason to scream.  She did so, but there was a hand over her mouth before any sound could escape.

            No one could hear her.

^

            Elia woke up.

            "Hey, she's awake."

            There were a few figures clothed in black.  Eyes of black peered out from beneath their dark wrappings.

            Elia tried to move, but she found she could not.  She was tied up fairly well.

            "Who are you?"

            _What should I say?  _She could not find the courage to say _anything_, so she really did not have to worry so much about    what she would tell them.

            Someone kicked her.  "I _said_, who are you?"

            "Hey, be nice to her!" another one spoke up.

            It was very dim, wherever they were, but Elia knew that voice.  The inflection, the slight rumble…  "Aden!" she called out.  _He must have been captured too!_

            "Miss Elia?  Are you all right?" he asked from a few feet beyond her.

            Elia tried frantically to make him out, but couldn't.  All she could see where tall, cloaked beings in the flickering light of a lamp some distance away.

            The same kicker from before repeated his act.  "I'll do what I want, newcomer, so just shut your trap."

            Elia bit her lip.  They were going to torture her?  "What do you want me with me?"

            "Tell us where that damned Fifths' camp is, bitch," snarled the abuser, thrusting his foot into Elia's side with even more effort.  He laughed when she gave out a cry of pain.

            "A virgin's blood is nearly priceless.  Don't spill too much, brother," spoke a woman beside him, her voice that of a serpent.

            "Miss Elia!" cried Aden again.

            The man who was tormenting Elia growled.  "'Miss Elia!  Miss Elia!'" he mimicked, the scowl on his face practically audible.  "Is she not the one you confessed your love to, newcomer?  Is _she_ not the one who rejected you?"  He put his foot on Elia's chest and pushed down on it hard.

            Elia could not breathe, could not even gasp for air.  Her suffering was silent, but horrid.

            Aden sighed.  "But, you—"

            "Keep your mouth shut, newcomer!  You could not even give us the location of the camp.  If you interrupt anymore, I'm killing the girl and then using her body to beat you into oblivion."

            Elia could have retched at the thought.

            There were murmurs of amusement and delight at this idea from the others who gathered around.

            "Oh, but not before I have her body!" cried one of the men in the group.

            The woman who had spoken before spoke again.  "Idiot.  Once you have her, the blood will lose its value.  We need her to be a virgin."

            "But—!" moaned the man who had voiced his desire for Elia.  He sighed.  "I guess I will have to settle with her corpse.  It _is_ always so…exciting that way."

            Elia could not believe what she was hearing.  Not only was she slowly suffocating from the foot on her chest, but she was hearing what would be done with her dead body!  _Link!_ she cried out in her mind.  _Oh, Goddesses!  Anyone!  Help me!_

            Suddenly, the foot lifted.  Perhaps the man had grown bored with stomping her.

            Elia gasped for breath, a fish that had been out of water for too long.  Even so, she was lightheaded.

            Someone nudged her body over.  Dirt flooded into the void between her lips.  She spat it out, but her head was just kicked further into the ground, more earth coming in.  Cackles of glee rung in her ears.

            "Tell us," demanded the main abuser.  "Where is the camp?"

            _Endanger Nylan and the others?  I would never…!_  "I don't know," she lied through coughs.

            Someone groped for what was left of Elia's hair and yanked her so she sat up.

            "You bitch," they snarled into her face.  "You're obviously smarter than the newcomer.  Tell us where the hell it is!"

            "I don't know!" she cried.

            A slap and she was on her other side.

            _Dear Goddesses!  They'll kill me!_ she thought as she was punched back to the ground.  She came up again, blood running from her swelling lip.  _But they will kill me either way.  I would never tell them and endanger Link and everyone else!_

            "Just tell them!" Aden yelled.

            _Aden…  It seems you've deserted me for these filthy people.  But why?  Yet…  There is confusion in your voice.  Aden, help me!_

            "I don't—"

            Yet one more hit.  Elia was coughing up chunks of blood and flesh.

            _This is worse then when Nabooru cut me up with her sword…_

            "I _told_ you not to spill so much blood!" the Second woman exclaimed, slapping her fellow tribesman.  She leaned down and hauled Elia up by the collar with one hand.  Had the circumstances differed, Elia could have applauded the strength of her captor.  Now, however, the young brown-haired woman could only tremble in fear at it.

            There was a blade at her throat.  A taunting serpent in Elia's ear, the woman whispered, "I can smell your blood, little girl."  She licked some of the liquid that dribbled down Elia's cheek.  "Mmm…  It tastes good."

            _What is wrong with these people?_  Elia bit her lip, trying not to cry.  _I am such a crybaby.  But in the face of death…  No, I simply must _not_ show weakness to these people—if you can call them 'people'.  I think it would only make them happier._

            Elia was dragged deeper into the crowd.  She suddenly felt hands on her body, rubbing and caressing her in places only a pervert would think of.  They giggled to each other about how good she was to touch.  She felt the foreign bodies pressing together, all trying to get in contact with her.  Some of them even licked her face, taking the blood they'd spilled into their own mouths and savoring it.

            Elia could not do anything.  She was in pure shock.  Horror ripped through her veins.  _I could not have dreamed that such people existed…  Oh, and how I wish this were simply a dream!_

            "Are you sure we cannot have her, leader?" one of the tribesman said.  Elia imagined he was one of the ones with his hands on her chest.  "Even though she has such awful hair, the rest of her is great!"

            The woman who was pulling Elia through snarled, "You sex-craved bastards!  Why the hell do I put up with you?"

            "Why do we put up with _you_?" demanded one of the men.  "You won't let us have a little fun.  We haven't gotten any for so long!"

            There was a chorus of agreement.

            "Let's have the prisoner!" shouted someone.

            All of them lunged on Elia, pushing even more on her small little body.

            Elia shrieked, falling to the ground.  Her hand touched the ground.

            All of a sudden, a fireball spread out from that spot.

            Elia didn't know what to make of it.  She just ran.

^-^-^-^

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Chapter Review Section   _(Completely ripped off from Anime Animal's and other author's dialogue thingies— gomen nasai!)_

[All characters:  X_x]

What?  What?  I had to show how bad the Seconds were!

[Elia:  But did they have to _touch_ me?  You are SO gross!  Ewwwww!!!  Linkie-poo!!!]

'L…Linkie-poo??'  Now who is the one being gross?  Besides…it was THEM doing the touching!

[Link:  But you wrote it….]

Shut up!  *slaps Link with a trout*

[Ruto:  Hey, be nice to fish!]

[Elia:  Be nice to ME!]

…

Anyway, I apologize to any and all readers who are offended.  I don't really wanna put a higher rating on this story, but I don't know…  The Seconds are _really really bad_, okay??


	20. Fleeing Again and Again

^-^-^-^

            Elia's own hand flew to cover her mouth so that she could not vocalize her fear.  She had just stumbled into someone in the pitch black.

            "Who?"

            "Link!" she realized, reaching out to touch him.  She dropped her voice to a whisper.  "Oh, Link…"

            "El…Elia…"  His own hand slowly extended to meet hers.  "You…  Yes, I came to look for you," he recalled, letting his voice quiet down as well.

            "Oh, Link, we must go!"  Their fingers intertwined.  The recent events flooded back into her mind in a rush.  "Oh…  I…"  She felt the contents of her stomach rising up her throat.

            "Elia," he said simply, somberly.  He sounded rather helpless.  All he could do was rub her back gently, wondering what would cause her to retch so violently.

            Elia was hot with embarrassment.  She coughed a little and wiped her mouth.  "Water…" she was able to say, trying to push the memories away.

            "We have to get out of here," the hero said, his tone serious as he helped her to her unsteady feet.

            _What is going on?_ Elia could only think, leaning hard against him as he pulled her back towards the light of the camp.  _I want out of here!_

            "You are not going anywhere."

            Elia froze.  It was the voice of the woman who had tortured her just minutes before.  

            "Who are you?" Link demanded.

            Elia clung to him.  _Goddesses, no!  Just let them leave us alone!_

            "Hmph.  A sap like you doesn't deserve to know the name of the leader of the second band of the Second Tribe," she hissed between her clenched teeth.  In the dark, Elia could make out that the woman was drawing a ragged blade of some sort.

            The young brunette felt Link take a slow step backward.

            The man said in a trembling voice, "What?  You want a _fight_?  And in the dark as well?"

            "A fight?"  The woman laughed.  "Of course not!"

            Link tensed a bit less.

            But the enemy continued.

            "A fight involves _two_ opponents, dearie, and I am just going to slay you where you stand.  I would not call such a dreadfully dull thing a match, much less a fight."

            Elia could not take these insults.  "What are you talking about?  The man you speak to is no other but the Hero of Time!"

            There was a pause.

            "Hero of Time?  What is _that_?"  She cackled again and pointed her blade at Link.  "If you think I can't see you cowering there, girl, then I would smack myself upside the head!  Get out of the way if you don't want to die before Mr. 'Hero' here."

            "How can we fight in the dark?"  Link's voice was still shaky.

            Their attacker stepped forward a few steps, the reflection of her sword in the dim light bobbing up and down.  "You don't know anything, do you?" she snarled.  "Seconds see better in the dark than in the light!  Now get away, girl!"

            "Elia, run away!" Link whispered frantically.

            Elia stood her ground.

            The other woman seemed unmoved by this.  "Fine, I'll just kill you first, brat."  She lunged.

            Elia felt hands on her shoulders, and she was suddenly sprawled across the ground.  "Link!"

            He cried in pain as the blade penetrated some part of him.

            Elia cringed at this sound.  "Link, fight!"

            "I can't!"  _Snap_–the cracking of sticks.  Was Link trying to dodge the blade?  "Elia, I never fought before!"

            Elia held her head.  _Of course!  He doesn't remember fighting.  He doesn't know how!  But we cannot just sit here and wait to die…_  She groped the earth and finally found what she was looking for.  Finally, Elia cried, "Link, here!" as she tossed a large branch his way.

            Link managed to duck one more swing as he reached for the weapon.  He took it in his hands.  "I…  Deku…  _Ahhh!_"  As he had started recalling something, the enemy had skewered his side.  However, he stumbled for secure footing and swung wildly.

            The cloaked figure laughed.  "A stick can't touch me."

            Elia screamed.  Someone had thrown a bag over her head!

            "Elia!"  Link's muffled cry and the snap, the breaking of a branch, were the last things the young woman heard before slipping away from the coherent world.

^

            There was a strange taste in her mouth.  Dirt and…blood?

            Elia snapped her eyes open.  Again she was bound by ropes.  However, this time, she was in a small, darkened tent, awaking with her mouth in the ground.  _Whose blood am I tasting?_ she wondered, spitting it out.

            She heard a sound, a moan of pain.

            Elia struggled to sit up.  "Link?"

            "Uh-huh…"  His breathing was irregular, strained.

            "Goddesses!  The blood is…yours…?"

            "I suppose.  That lady beat me pretty bad…I'm….afraid."  He was moving about a bit.  "I…"  He took a moment to fill his lungs with air.  "I failed…  I really wanted to protect you, but I was too weak…"

            His words squeezed the young woman's very heart.  "It means a lot that you just tried, Link."

            He scoffed, "And what good is _that_?"  The stress of his voice obviously pained him, and he was quiet for a while.  "I am sure now that I was never the Hero of Time…  I could not remember what to do.  I wanted to save you, but that was all."

            She struggled a bit in her bindings, but couldn't move very much.  "Link, you _are_ him—I mean, you are _you_.  And that person—you…  You are the Hero of Time.  You just don't remember right now.  But you will."

            He was silent.

            Elia remembered that he had been bleeding.  Was he still conscious?  "Link…?"

            "Yeah."  His voice was quiet.

            "What is going to happen to us?"

            "Beats me," scoffed the man.  "We both were knocked out.  F…  Forgive me."  He began muttering to himself, "I had a great desire to protect you, even though I didn't know how.  What does that mean?  And the Deku…  Elia, what is a Deku?"

            "Deku?  Why, I believe it's the tree deity of the Forest."

            "Forest?"

            "Kokiri Forest.  In Hyrule."

            "Kokiri…"  He groaned suddenly.  "My head!" he screamed out.

            "Link?"

            Gasping for breath, he got out, "I…fine.  Just…  That name—those names—they hurt my head to think of…"

            She scooted over a little.  "You think that your memories are coming back?"

            "I can't tell."

            Elia felt a bit torn.  She desperately wanted Link to regain his memories, but, at the same time, she could not bear for him to be in distress.  Finally, she told him, "Link, please do not think about those things so much, then.  You…  You can regain your past in your own time."

            "I suppose—hey!  The rope just came loose in a spot!"

            "What?"  She got even closer, returning her words to whispers.  "You're free?"

            "Not quite—Wait, here we go!"  He gave a little laugh that warmed Elia's ears.  His arms he reached into the air, happy to have them breathe again.  "Now I can undo yours."

            Link helped her to sit and held her body upright between his knees as he began to fumble for her hands in the dark.  It took some doing, but he managed to get her free as well.  Elia fell backward into his arms, red littering her little cheeks.

            Suddenly, Link grabbed her body and held on tightly.  His mouth was somewhat near to her neck, and Elia could feel warm air there.

            They sat like this for a while.  Elia was in heaven, or as close to heaven as was humanly possible.  It mattered little that they were dirty, imprisoned—at least they were together.  Elia closed her eyes for a minute.

            "Elia…  Um…"  Link raised his head.  "Since we _are_ free and everything, I suppose that we had best attempt to escape."

            Elia blinked herself back to her senses.  "Yes, of course!" she whispered back.  _How silly of me, wishing that we could stay like that…_

            Link got up slowly and helped his companion to her unsteady feet.  His breathing was labored; his wounds still stung and dripped blood.  He started for the side of the tent and felt around the side.

            Elia did the same, gently probing the cloth with her fingers.  Suddenly, her hand poked through.  She pulled the flap aside just a little and looked out with one big brown eye.  Outside at some distance was a small fire, smoldering to a halt.  Beside it was slumped a person, but Elia could not make out any features to distinguish what sort of person it was.  Her best guess was that it was the woman who had attacked them before.

            "See anything?" whispered Link from beside Elia.  He leaned over her and surveyed the land with a sole sapphire pool that flickered in the distant glow of the flames.  

            "Just one person…  But there might be others."  She turned to look up at him, her face almost buried in his tunic.  "You think we should make a run for it?"

            He pondered for a moment.  "More like a...slither for it, hmm?"

            "I only wish we had some of Nylan's magic.  We could conceal ourselves."

            Link sighed.  "We must make do with what we have, right?"

            Elia slipped her fingers between his, waiting for him to leave first.

            Out he went with her on his tail, slinking in the shadows, putting as much distance between the fire and themselves.  Maybe one yard.  Two.  Three or four…  Ah, they were in the woods again, darting around trees.

            And then, Elia had the luck to run into someone again.  But this one put his arms around her.  "Who—?"

            "Oh, Elia," whispered Aden's deep voice in her long ear.

            Elia froze.  Him?  "Aden, what are you doing here?"

            "Shhh…"  He tenderly stroked her back, and held her closer.  "I'm so glad you're safe, Elia."

            She tingled all over, mostly with fright.

            "Get away," snarled Link, who had figured out most of what was going on.  "Leave Elia alone."

            Again she tingled, but with admiration at Link's defensiveness.  Slowly she slid from Aden's arms and backed into her hero.  _Aden…  I cannot know if he is friend or foe now.  He cooperated with those Seconds…_

            "Please," said Aden, his voice just as it had always been, tender and a bit unawares.  Humble, friendly Aden.  Was he back?  "I'm so sorry, Miss Elia.  I'm gonna make up for it, okay?  I'll take you to where you'll be safe."

            "Aden…"  She gulped.  "I trust you."  Elia smiled, even in the darkness, and squeezed Link's hand.  _This is the right thing to do.  Aden is a wonderful person.  I believe in him._

            Elia could feel Link hesitate, relished his arms closing in about her more tightly, but gave his shirt a tug.

            "Let's go," Aden said, returning to speaking so quietly.  He took them through various twists in the wood, but seemed quite certain of where he was going.  They arrived at a moonlit clearing several minutes later.

            A cloud passed over the orb of light in the sky, spreading darkness on the land.  But, by the time that light regained itself and Elia could see things clearly, Link had been ripped away from her with a sort of surprised cry.  Now she could make out his figure on the ground, and Aden looking triumphant.

            "Aden—?!"  It scared her so much to see him like that.

            "I'm not Aden!" he declared, laughing.  "Hear my name and tremble! I'm Link, Hero of the Gorons!"

            Elia wondered what nonsense he was spouting, but this detail paled in comparison to her worry for both of the men.  She rushed toward Link, her path quickly blocked by the dark-haired man.

            "Elia, you're mine!  I'm never gonna let this weak excuse for a hero have you!"

            "Aden, you wouldn't—"

            He had himself pressed up against her, clutching her tightly, smothering her in a violent kiss.  "You're mine," he growled, pushing her down.  "I'm the only Link you'll ever need again, Elia."

            "Get off of me!" she screamed, kicking and struggling under him.  "Aden!  Aden, what's wrong with you?  Aden!  You can't—_stop it_!"

            There was a clunk, a moan, and he slipped off of her.

            Elia looked up to see glaring at the unconscious man with burning eyes.  A large rock was clenched tightly in his fist.  A kick and he had sent Aden yet farther from the terrified woman.  "You ever touch her again, I'll kill you," he threatened, tucking the rock in his belt and reaching for Elia's hand.

            "Link…"  She hugged him tightly.

            "We must go.  Now."  Without anything more to say, he grabbed her shoulders with one arm and the backs of her knees with the other, hoisting her up, beginning to race back into the woods.

            She was surprised he was strong enough to take such a task with no visible effort.  "Link, you don't have to."

            He grasped her body more tightly.  "I do.  I'll get you away from all those damned freaks," he muttered as he took various twists and turns through the trees.

            Link was speeding along so readily that Elia bounced up and down in his hold.  She strung her arms about his neck to keep from falling.  "Link, how do you know where to go?"

            "I know where," he murmured.  "Somehow…  I know where to go.  Like someone is…calling to me," he got out between heavy breaths.

            _Calling?_ she wondered, deciding not to distract him further.  _How is that, Link?_

^-^-^-^


	21. Scared Little Girl

^-^-^-^

            "Elia?"

            The crumpled form of the woman was in the corner.  Her hands were clasped tightly against her face as the whole of her shook as her cheeks moistened with falling tears.

            Mvon got closer.  She wobbled quite a bit, considering her belly was even larger.  But, all the same, she crouched down and gently touched Elia's cheek, discovering it to be wet and wiping it herself.

            "Aden…Aden tried to rape me," was all Elia could say.  "I believed in him so much…"  She was shaking her head back and forth, still in disbelief at what had happened the night before.  "What happened to him?"

            "Aden?  That nice Goron man?" Mvon was no so apt to believe either, it seemed.  "He…really did?"

            "What happened?  Aden…  Something evil must have made him to this, right?  Right?"  She was pleading now, trying to comprehend what had happened to her friend.  "I trusted him.  I could have gotten Link killed, too…"

            "What's wrong with trusting people?" Mvon wondered gently, maneuvering herself down to the tent floor so she could meet Elia's brown eyes.

            Elia stared right at Mvon, seeing how sagely she looked.  "Oh, Mvon," she rasped.  "You don't think he's evil, do you?"

            Mvon thought a moment and replied, "I don't know, Elia.  From what I saw of Aden, he was such a nice man, and he cared for you more than anything.  But, you know…  Love can make people do unreasonable, completely irrational things…"

            Elia nodded, wiping some of her tears away.  She hugged her friend tightly.  "Thank you, thank you."

            "Well, you know," Mvon said when their embrace was done, standing up with a bit of difficulty, "I think Link is really wondering what happened to you.  So let's go out where everyone is waiting, Elia."

            Elia followed her companion to the main circle.  She saw Nylan, Wonara, Xua, Baxt, Bward…and Link, sitting in the corner looking discouraged.  All sitting about the fire, which was just starting up as evening spread across the land.

            Elia sat on a piece of rock right next to Link.  He reached out and wrapped his hand over hers, squeezing reassuringly.  Elia flashed him a big smile and immediately took his arm and placed it around her shoulders so she could snuggle up against his side.

            Link looked up and said, "We're going…back to Hyrule, then?"

            "What?" Elia asked.

            Nylan did not seem to notice Elia's ignorance of the situation, and answered the man, "Yes…  I believe it is necessary."

            "I can't possibly go all the way to Hyrule," Mvon said, looking down at herself quite pointedly.  "Where will I go?"

            "None of us can stay here any longer," Xua said, the cold glow of his eyes bright and fierce.  "We have dawdled too long as it is."

            "Oh, stop talking like that, Xua.  It's unnerving," scolded Wonara, comforting Mvon with a warm gaze.

            Xua merely kept his own eyes on the flames.  "It's true.  We are all in danger here."

            "We _are_ leaving, Xua.  Have you been ignoring us this whole time?"

            "But where will I go?" worried Mvon quietly to her cousin, who had joined her.

            "I mentioned my sister earlier, right?  Why can't you stay with her?  I think she is still in Pwyre," Elia suggested from the other side of the fire, even though she still was not quite sure what everyone was talking about.

            "Yes, we can stop there first on our way to Hyrule," Nylan agreed with a nod.  Perhaps you can stay there too," he told his wife.

            Wonara wore a rather indignant look.  "Be separated from you?  _Again_?"

            Nylan practically cowered.  "Well… We shall see how it goes."

^

            "This is…Pwyre, then?"  Link asked as they passed under an arch and stepped into the great, bustling city.  His hand shot up and he felt his pendant, something he often did nowadays.  Perhaps it was solely for reassurance; perhaps it actually helped his mind in some way.  Either way, it made him more certain of himself.

            "It is.  Now let's get to the inn," Mvon groaned.  She was tired, sweaty, and irritable.

            Everyone was too scared of her recent temper that they soon obeyed, hurrying to the inn and registering, dropping off their things, and heading their separate ways.

            "We must all hold constant vigilance," Nylan had warned in a sinister tone before the group split up.  "Enjoy yourselves, but do not forget we could all be in danger."

            "Where do you want to go?" Elia asked Link sweetly when Nylan had left.

            Link was scanning the square with his eyes a bit wide.  "Elia, is it really safe for all of us to just wander around such a place?  With all of these people?"

            Elia squeezed his hand tightly.  "I know Nylan wouldn't take us here if he thought there was too much danger."

            "But he said something about 'constant vigilance', didn't he?  Maybe we should just head back to the inn…"

            Elia made a face.  After the long trip, she was looking forward to wandering the streets of Pwyre with Link, holding his hand, maybe stopping at a café…  And now he was too frightened to?  "All right.  If you are that worried, Link, then head back to the inn.  But I am going to go eat a nice lunch somewhere.  I'm hungry."  She turned around and began walking in a random direction.

            "Wait, Elia!" he called after her.

            She stopped in her tracks.

            Link caught up and began to follow close at her side when she walked again.  "I definitely can't let you go off all alone," he mumbled, sticking his hands in his pockets.  "Where do you want to eat?"

            Elia smiled secretly to herself.  A day with Link after all.  "Somewhere out of the way," she told him, picturing a quaint little place where they could watch the daylight dwindle away, clasping hands and sitting close together.  It wasn't too much to ask after all her trauma, was it?

            They roamed the cobblestones streets for a long time, passing bars and noisy restaurants alike.  Nothing really appealed to Elia, until they reached the end of town and a small shop that was labeled, "Tavern" in black letters on a tiny wooden sign that swung back and forth, creaking in the breeze.

            "There," the woman announced, halting a few yards from it on the sleepy street.

            Link peered at it, approached it, and took a peek through the slightly sooty windows.  "Here?"

            Elia nodded happily.  Link sighed and took her arm, leading her inside.  A happy girl with blond hair eagerly escorted them to a table near the corner and collected their orders.

            When everything was settled and both Link and Elia were sipping ale and awaiting their lunches, they began to talk.

            "Hey, Link," Elia started in.

            He seemed quite taken by his drink, not looking up.

            She nudged his foot with her own under the table.  "_Link_."

            "Huh?"  He blinked, looking up.  "Oh, sorry."

            "You are so distracted," observed Elia quietly.  "Are you all right?"

            "I'm fine," he told her with a confident smile.  "I was just…thinking."

            "About what?" she asked instantly.

            The man paused, lifting the mug with both hands and tipping it around to make the liquid swish about.  "Oh, I don't know.  I guess I'm kind of…apprehensive."

            "That's obvious."  Elia turned more thoughtful.  "About what?"

            Link sighed, finally placing his ale down on the stained wood table.  "About going to Hyrule.  I know I'm going _back_, but…  It'll be like going there for the first time for me."

            "Will it?  Maybe it won't be foreign at all."

            He looked at her remorsefully, cringing at the sparkling hope that practically shot from her big brown eyes.  The man sighed again.

            "Did…did I do something wrong, Link?"

            He turned his head and pointed his strong jaw towards the window, which was in bad need of cleaning.  It didn't matter.  He couldn't look at her again right now.  He didn't want that look to crush him again.  "Elia…I…"

            "Oh, Link, I—"  She caught herself.  "I'm sorry.  I will stop interrupting."  Elia turned her own eyes down at her hands, which she began to wring out.

            "Elia, you know I'm not really him, don't you?"

            "Not really who, Link?" she asked, fearing the answer.

            "Not really him!"

            His yell brought about silence, which he broke quickly with speedy mumbling to explain.  "I'm sorry, all right?  You hope and hope that I am Link, your love and this Hero of Time.  It is true that I do feel strongly for you, Elia, but…  Even if I am him—no, _was_ him—what does that mean now?"

            _I don't know, I don't know_, Elia thought in her mind, staring straight down so he couldn't see her trembling face.  Her hands grew red spots with each pinch.  This self-afflicted pain was easier to concentrate on than that the cascaded into her heart.

            "What happens if I never get all of my memories back, Elia?  I'll never be the Hero of Time again!  But, because I already remember some things, there's no way I can be anyone else either.  I'll be a…shadow of Link forever."  He moistened his lips with his tongue, still gazing through the dirt at an image he himself only saw.

            "Link…come now.  Don't think this way.  Please.  I mean…we get closer every day.  And…if you decide you want to be someone else and give up on being the Hero of Time, then you can.  You can do whatever you want, Link."

            "Can I?" he asked wistfully, his voice light but eerily distant.  His fingers clasped his talisman, and he squeezed so tightly that the color ran from each digit.  "With all that I am, I wish that I could be the Hero of Time again.  But he is just a legend to me now, can't you understand?  Hyrule is just a place on a map, not my home and, certainly, not a place I rescued from evil.  Its people are mere names to me, without faces or memories attached."

            Elia bit back tears.  "L—Have… Have I pressured you into wanting to be him again?"

            "I want to be him for you again, Elia.  I know you love him, and it hurts so much.  You put up with me, pretend I'm him, try to act as normally as you can…  But…  What happens, Elia, if I am never him again?"

            _No, no!_ her mind screamed.  _All along I've been acting that way to push those thoughts away!  Don't bring it up now!  You…  You mustn't!_

            "Elia, what if I go back to Hyrule and don't recognize any of it?  I wonder sometimes if I could have been Link at all.  I…  I am not unlike that…that Goron."  There was still some anger directed at Aden in the man's heart.  "I pity him for feeling he lived in my shadow, always.  But now I can empathize with him more than he will ever know…"

            Someone coughed, and soon their steaming lunches appeared before Link and Elia.

            Link thanked the waitress.  When she was gone, he spoke.  "The Gods must hate us to play such games with our lives," he muttered.

            "No," Elia told him firmly.  It was the first time she had said anything in a while.  Now she could not stop.  "Every single day for five years all I could think about was you coming back to me."  She held up her hand to show the ring, which seemed, ironically, a bit tarnished today.  "I didn't care about anything else.  I saved up money for the family we would have one day.  I planted the garden each spring so it would be as beautiful as could be when you came back.  I fixed up the house.  Nothing mattered.  Everything was going to be perfect…as soon as you got back."  She held her hands up to her face, doing a terrible job at hiding her emotion.  In a muffled voice, she exclaimed, "It's all my fault for putting too much pressure on you!"

            Link did not say anything.  He was not surprised at her words.  He'd imagined that Elia might devote herself so much.  "Elia, I hope I get my memories back.  It is all I want."

            Elia looked up then.  He had just said '_my_ memories.'  He had admitted he was Link.  "W-We _will_ get them back, Link," she promised.

            Again she had the overly hopeful expression.  "How?" Link asked quietly.

            "All we have to do is find Zelda, and—"

            "You'll never find Zelda," scoffed a voice that Elia thought she recognized.

            There, sitting in the corner both with her little back turned to them, was a child with green hair.

            This child stood up suddenly and walked around, taking a seat right next to Elia.  "Hello, Link," she said to the man.

            "You…"  Link gazed intently at her.  "Who are you?"

            With blue eyes brimming with hurt she gazed up at the man.  "You don't even remember your best friend, Link?"

            Elia's head shot to the side.  "It's you and the other Sages that caused him to lose his memory in the first place!"

            Saria sat with her back very straight, and folded her small hands in her lap.  "Not true.  Queen Zelda did it."  She became interested in straightening the folds in the small green shirt she wore and swinging her booted feet against the table legs.

            "I…I…"  Link's eyes, meanwhile, had never left the child diagonal from him.  "Deku…  Fairies…  Saria!"  He closed his eyes and held his hands to his head.

            "Link!" Saria cried out, reaching over the food for him, even though she could not reach him.  "Link, are you all right?"  She was not one of the tough Sages in that moment.  She was a child, a friend, with concern written all over her small, pale face.  "Link?"

            The man was scared, frightened.  Then his head jerked up in a split second, and his voice came out like a robot, "I can see it.  My tree house.  I came out.  Everyone laughed at me.  Saria…  Saria came.  She said she'd play with me.  Everyone left me alone.  I was…happy."  His eyes melted in some way, regaining life.  He shook out his head, his hair getting messier.

            "You're remembering me?" Saria wondered.  "Really, Link?"  She cracked some sort of smile.

            Link grabbed at his pendant nervously.  He was breathing hard, like he had just sprinted across a field.  "I've never seen anything so clearly in my head before," he mumbled.  "Or felt it."

            "That's so great, Link!" Elia told him happily.  "See?  I told you that you would get your memories back!"

            Saria scoffed, "Oh, it's not as simple as that."  She leaned her head back just a little, chuckling softly to herself.  "Zelda won't permit it.  And neither will I."

            "But I thought you were happy for him."  Elia was in disbelief.  _What a transformation in only a few seconds!  She was a good friend, and now she is the evil servant of Zelda again!_

            Saria said, "It doesn't matter, girl.  Everything will be taken care of shortly."

            "What does that mean?"  Link was alarmed.

            "It doesn't matter," Saria said again.  "It won't change anything."  She sighed.  "Besides, they won't even tell me anything."

            She was the sad little girl again?

            "If it doesn't matter," Elia began hotly, "then what is the problem with satisfying our curiosity?"

            "I can't tell you anything.  I have nothing to tell."  Saria smiled bitterly.  "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't."

            "And you sound like you want to," Link observed softly, leaning his elbows on the table and his chin on his hands.

            Elia peered at him.  What?  How could he read the girl like that?

            "What do you expect me to say?"

            Link pondered the question for a moment, a million thoughts running through his head.  He was weighing possibilities.  What would Saria want to hear?  What would be something her old friend Link would say?

            Saria reached over quite casually and snatched a roll from Elia's plate.  She began to devour it hungrily.

            Elia opened her mouth to protest, but Link jerked his eyes toward her.  She said nothing, merely watching the girl with strange interest.  _What is she?  Friend or foe?  I wish I could read people better…_

            Saria finished the small piece of bread and went for Elia's portion of meat, stuffing it into her mouth and downing it with the last of the woman's ale.

            "Would you like us to buy you a lunch?" Link asked.

            Saria looked up with a high little "Hmm?"  But she shook her head.  "No.  I was only a little hungry."

            Elia mumbled under her breath, "I think _I_ might need another lunch," seeing as more than half of hers was currently being digested by Saria's stomach.  Link gave the woman another harsh look, so she decided to keep her mouth shut from now on.

            Meanwhile, Saria was staring straight ahead.  Her face was contorted to display confusion, thoughtfulness, remorse, and a thousand other emotions.  She spoke in a low voice.  "They're all in a power struggle," she mumbled.  "It's been bad for years, but lately it's just been getting worse and worse.  Everyone wants to be the most respected by Zelda.  They all want to be second to her."

            Both Elia and Link were silent.  That was until Link spoke, "Are you talking about the Sages?"

            Saria seemed to ignore his comment, still staring at the empty seat across from her, stilling thinking.  Her eyes were sullen, her lips barely moving.  She was even shaking slightly, Elia noticed.  "They all want to impress Zelda.  No one gets along anymore.  They don't notice me.  They just make me do all their dirty work as they carry out their little schemes."

            "Saria?" Link asked when she was quiet for a few moments.

            "Link, come take a walk with me. Just for a minute," Saria added.  "I need to talk with you alone."

            Link nodded, and soon disappeared with her out the door, leaving Elia to worry as she ate the remains of her meal.  She was worried for Link, and was more than relieved when the man returned in less than five minutes.

            "What happened?" Elia said, leaning forward eagerly.

            Link shrugged after he sat down in the booth, plunking down so hard it was as if he weighed a thousand pounds.  His eyes glazed over distantly, he told her, "We walked to the corner.  She hugged me and she said goodbye…"

            "Anything else?" the woman had to know.

            "Yeah.  'I'm sorry.'"  He let down his shoulders in defeat, but Elia knew his mind must have been racing still, as much as her own was.

            "She seemed like a scared little girl," Elia said quietly.

            "She's just as old as me.  It's…strange."

            "Hmm?  What is?"

            Link ran one hand through his tousled locks, sighing.  "It must be weird to be a Kokiri.  I mean…you are still a child, but you have as much experience as an adult.  I wonder what it would be like."

            Elia recognized the irony almost instantly.  She had heard that Link originally grew up as a Kokiri until he was called to fulfill his destiny.  Did he realize now what he was saying?

            Holding up his mug, he said, "But I don't think I would like to be one at the same time."  He finished his ale and gathered up the dirty plates and mugs.  "Let's go, Elia.  I don't want to be out too late."

            Elia obliged him, sliding out of the booth and dusting her skirt off.  She adjusted her hair, which she still loathed.  It was so terribly short and uneven, even though Wonara and Mvon had worked for hours to make it as nice as could be.

            Link dropped a few di next to their plates.  They were off with a final call of 'thank you' to the waitress.

^

            The town square was bustling in the middle of the afternoon.  All sorts of folks were pawing through displays of fabrics, silver, and other crafts constructed by artisans from all around Diola.

            As the pair waited for a large carriage to pass, Elia looked up at the huge clock tower that stood at the far end of the plaza, like some sort of monument.  It was big, made of gray stone, and it loomed over everything, casting a shadow over some of the town as the sun began to descend from its noon height.

            She was about to look away, but something caught her eye.  Her head jerked up.  That shimmer was light bouncing off of a sword.

            "Link!" Elia exclaimed, her voice muffled by the crowd.  Link was already stepping out into an open area.  He could not hear her, nor see whatever demon dared to spring from the clock tower with a sword on its back and a fierce magic spell of orange fire bursting from its hands.

            "Link!" cried someone else as she flew on short legs and leapt into the air to protect the hero.

            "Link!" Elia screamed again as the area in front of her erupted with light.

^-^-^-^


End file.
